Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week we saw the release of school-by-school figures for the Victorian government schools under A National Plan for School Improvement. The figures show that every government school in my electorate will get increased funding over the period to 2019. I cannot list them all, but I will give some examples. Port Melbourne Primary, a fine school which I was at on Friday at the school assembly, are getting$2.2 million, or a 20 per cent increase; Elwood Primary, my old alma mater, are getting $3 million, or a 39 per cent increase; the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, a particular interest of mine, and relevant to the arts portfolio, are getting $1.2 million; and Albert Park Primary, are getting $1.9 million, or a 37 per cent increase, by 2019.

If the Victorian government misses this opportunity to get more funding for every government school in Victoria, the Premier will be putting partisan politics ahead of the interests of every student, parent and teacher in the state. He should follow the lead of Mr O'Farrell and the Premier of South Australia, put politics aside, and sign up to the National Plan for School Improvement now.

It is not possible to give school-by-school figures for non-government schools, because negotiations with the non-government sector are continuing. But, if Dr Napthine signs up by 30 June, every school in my electorate—Catholic, government, Anglican, independent or Jewish—will be better off. It will help deliver: more one-on-one attention and support in the classroom for every child, specialist literacy and numeracy programs for children in danger of being left behind, greater assistance for those students with disability or special need, and improvements in building the skills and knowledge of teachers and providing mentoring support for those new to the profession.

I also want to draw attention to another program in the schools area that I am very proud that the Australian government has proceeded with in my electorate, the Secure Schools Program Funded Projects. Of that, $20 million was spent in rounds 1 and 2. That was the 2007 election commitment. After the 2010 election, $11 million was spent for schools, and $4 million was spent for preschools. By contrast, Mr Abbott made a generalised pledge for security, with no specific figures, in an article that appeared in my electorate last week. Anyone in Melbourne Ports who took these generalised pledges against the specific programs that have fortified schools in my electorate that are under severe security threat would be a mug. Those are the kinds of generalised commitments that the coalition is making, without any figures—of course, all to be overridden by the ultimate audit commission saying that none of the expenditures are possible. The security of students in my electorate is very important and has been guaranteed by this government in a program that goes with the national school improvement program, ensuring the security of students. (Time expired)