Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I am proud to recognise Ms Emily Leggett, who is a 2014 winner of the prestigious Simpson Prize. Ms Leggett attends Somerville House in Griffith and is a resident of the electorate.

The Simpson Prize is a national competition for year 9 and 10 students, which was entered by 920 students this year. The competition encourages participants to focus on the significance of Anzac Day and to consider what Anzac Day means to them and to the community. Established in 1998, the Simpson Prize honours John Simpson Kirkpatrick. Simpson is famous for his bravery under fire at Gallipoli in 1915. Ms Leggett attended Parliament House here in Canberra yesterday to receive her prize as one of eight winners nationally. She and her fellow winners will travel to Turkey to visit Istanbul and Gallipoli, where they will mark Anzac Day.

The prize is supported by history teachers associations around the nation. The value of education, including history education, cannot be overstated. That is why a short while ago, I was pleased to go outside Parliament House and meet with teachers and others who have been travelling for weeks in vans across the nation in support of the Gonski reforms. They have been talking to teachers and communities about the importance of education funding.

The Abbott government will provide only $2.8 billion for schools, compared to the $14.65 billion that would have reached our schools under the Gonski plan. I respectfully suggest that the Abbott government reconsider its position and fund schools according to the Gonski plan.