Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness. What do the government's plans to improve our education system mean—

Mr Abbott interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Blair has the call.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for the competitiveness of the Australian economy? And what risks do irresponsible funding cuts to skills and education pose to our competitiveness?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Blair will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the greatest of respect, Madam Deputy Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition was on his feet, you clearly recognised that he was on his feet, then you turned to your right to see if a Labor member was standing and then recognised the Labor member. The Leader of the Opposition deserves more respect than that when he is seeking the call.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. I was trying to ascertain if he was seeking a supplementary. I remembered they had used up their two supplementaries and, then, in the usual to and fro of question time, it was the government's question. I had given the government the call, and it is totally within the prerogative of the chair as to who gets the call. The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The member for Blair again has the call and he should ask his question again.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness. What does the government's plan to improve our education system mean for the competitiveness of the Australian economy and what risks do irresponsible funding cuts pose to skills and training for our competitiveness?

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about the cuts to Defence?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Herbert will leave the chamber under standing order 94(a).

The member for Herbert then left the chamber.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend and colleague the member for Blair for his question, because I know how much he cares about the people of Blair and of Ipswich. He has been discussing with me the increase in unemployment associated with the savage cuts of the Queensland state government.

We know that investing in skills and education is the pre-eminent source of competitiveness in the 21st century. Yet across coalition states we are seeing savage cuts to investment in education and training. New South Wales is taking $1.7 billion out of schools and cutting 800 TAFE jobs and increasing TAFE fees.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. The standing orders are very clear that ministers should be asked questions within their portfolio. Question time is not a time for a general question to the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness to slag and bag coalition states. I ask you that, if question time is to mean anything, you bring the minister to order or sit him down.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, the minister is the minister for competitiveness. If the shadow minister for education does not understand that education and skills have something to do with us having a competitive economy then that is his problem.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Queensland government is cutting the number of TAFEs by half, the Victorian government is slashing TAFE funding by $300 million and of course just today this has been fully endorsed by the Leader of the Opposition when he said: 'I respect the job they are doing. I work closely with them as far as I can. But they are dealing with their problems at the state level and I will seek to deal with federal problems at our level.' You have the Leader of the Opposition endorsing the cuts and saying that he too would engage in savage cuts to government programs.

We know the size of the problem, because the shadow finance minister indicated that there is indeed a $70 billion funding crater. That was confirmed again today by the shadow Treasurer. The shadow finance minister further said to Business Spectator, in August: 'I have on my desk 49 policy documents, with covers'—that is nice —'and the costings.' So they have the costings and they are concealing them. We know that they are deliberately concealing the costings of where these savage cuts are coming from because he said at the same interview that they would not make the same mistake as they made with Fightback! and set out those policies before an election. Indeed, the device of an audit commission is the device of choice of the coalition. It is the device that Campbell Newman used to conceal the cuts to education, to training and to the workforce in Queensland. And we know that this opposition has said no to the charter of budget honesty, which was designed by former Treasurer Peter Costello. They will not go to the Parliamentary Budget Office. The shadow Treasurer obviously is going to hire a retired Mosman bookkeeper to put a little ruler over the costings and then say that it all adds up. But in truth they have in mind the same device—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will get back to the issue—

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and that is an audit commission. You, the Leader of the Opposition, should have the courage to say to the Australian people where you are going to make cuts. Be a man, front up and tell the Australian people how you are going to savagely cut education—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.