Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education and Training. Will the minister inform the House of the importance of ensuring our students have a solid grounding in maths and science? What support is there for the government's approach?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Flynn for that question. He knows that the states are responsible for literacy and numeracy and that our results are declining. He knows that the states are responsible for science and mathematics and that the take-up has been poor and the results are declining. He knows that the states are responsible for teacher quality in Australia and that is the most important feature identified by the OECD for improvement. He knows all these things, as do I and this side of the House.

And yet, when faced with a proposal to do something about it, the Labor Party and the Labor states squibbed that opportunity on Friday. This government proposed that we should make maths or science compulsory in years 11 and 12 over a long trajectory. The opposition and the Labor states rejected that proposal. The problem with Labor and the Labor states is that they are all talk and no action. The problem is that they entrench failure; they will not depart from the Australian Education Union. The Leader of the Opposition talks tough in the change room but when he gets onto the field he is weak. We proposed real action on Friday to do something about maths and science in Australia, supported by the Chief Scientist, and this opposition and the Labor states squibbed the opportunity. Compulsory maths or science in year 11 or 12 is already in place in China, Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand, and Great Britain is moving in that direction over the next five years. The students in those countries are smart enough to do maths or science in years 11 or 12 but this opposition and the Labor states and territories are not prepared to make the tough decisions that will actually improve outcomes for students. They want to fiddle around at the margins.

But this government gave them the opportunity to actually do something. In the last 10 years our class sizes have shrunk to the smallest they have ever been. We have spent 40 per cent more on school education in the last 10 years. So the spending is up, class sizes are smaller, and still our results are declining. It is time for Labor to stop talking tough and not doing. It is time for Labor to get on board with the government and do things about the curriculum, about teacher quality and about science and maths subjects in years 11 and 12 rather than just squibbing it.