Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the government's plan to build a stronger and smarter economy and how the passage of the Australian Education Bill through the House brings us one step closer to this?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Greenway for her question and I am absolutely delighted that today this House of the parliament passed the Australian Education Bill; that is, we endorsed for Australia's children a better education for the future. We endorsed a method of properly funding our children, our teachers and our classrooms for generations to come. And in saying yes to every child realising their full potential, this House today also said yes to a stronger economy in the future.

First, to the member for Greenway, we do know from the education reforms that we have brought to date that we can improve children's education, we can make sure that kids get a better education and that student results are lifted. I point to examples like St John's Primary School Auburn, with about 260 kids, most of them from a background where they speak a language other than English. We have invested an extra $915,000 in this school and year-on-year standards are improving. In year 3 reading is up five per cent. By year 5 it is up seven per cent, and numeracy is up a staggering 26 per cent. That is one example in one school where extra resources combined with new ways of working have lifted up the standards for our children and enabled them to achieve their full potential. And if you can do it in one school then you can do it in all schools. And if you do it across our schooling system and we achieve our year 12 attainment goals then that means a stronger economy, a gain to the economy of around $11.3 billion, or $416 per person.

You would think that in this parliament there could be a moment of unity around replacing our broken system of funding schools at the moment with a system that will work for all schools for the future, getting it right for generations to come, enabling our children to reach their full potential, enabling our economy to be stronger for the future. But, unfortunately, today we did not see that moment of unity. Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition and the opposition voted no to better education for our children. They voted no to a stronger economy in the future.

On this side of the House we understand that there is nothing more important to parents than their child's future: the quality of the teacher in the classroom, the access to specialist teachers, the access to equipment, the access to help if they need it and to programs for gifted children who are doing absolutely their best and achieving at the peak. That is what we are promising every Australian school, and we will continue to fight for this funding reform in every school. (Time expired)