Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2011, in her address to the United States Congress, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said:

Our future growth relies on competitiveness and innovation, skills and productivity ... and these in turn rely on the education of our people.

These words still ring true today, but now we have a Prime Minister who talks a lot about agility, disruption and innovation, but Labor knows that the true enabler of a prosperous Australia, underpinned by equality and opportunity for all, is education. And that is why last week, Labor announced our plan to ensure that every student in every local school gets the support they need to reach their full potential. Our schools policy will start with undoing the damage caused by this Turnbull Liberal government.

To begin with, we will implement and fund the Gonski reforms on time and in full, meaning every student in Australia will benefit from increased needs-based funding. The Gonski review warned that too many children were missing out on the education they need due to a lack of resources. It is vital that the reform continues as planned and in its entirety. Labor's 'Your Child. Our Future' plan will see an additional investment in our education system of $4.5 billion for years 5 and 6 of Gonski and a total provision of $37.3 billion for the package over a decade. Labor's plan, based on evidence and needs, will deliver the most significant improvement in school education in Australia for two generations. It will ensure a strong focus on every child's needs, more individual attention for students, better trained teachers, more targeted resources and better equipped classrooms, and more support for students with special learning needs.

I know that, in my electorate of Newcastle, Gonski is already making a difference, and Labor's determination to honour the full six-year needs-based school funding agreements is very welcome. Late last year, I had the pleasure of attending Gonski Week celebrations at Kotara High School and New Lambton South Public School to see firsthand the positive impact that Labor's Gonski funding is having on local schools. Teachers told me that the smaller class sizes meant more time with each student, ensuring no-one was falling behind. Intensive literacy and numeracy programs have had enormous benefits for students, helping them to learn these fundamental skills to set them up in life. Speech pathologists, English coaching, homework and lunchtime tutors were all making a difference.

As it stands with the Liberals broken promises and slashing of education funding, my electorate of Newcastle alone is set to lose more than $195 million in funding over the next 10 years. These cuts, launched by Tony Abbott and confirmed by Malcolm Turnbull, will further entrench inequality. Without investment in our schools, Malcolm Turnbull's talk about innovation and the future economy is just that—it is just talk. It is time for this government to get on board and at least ensure the funding of years 5 and 6 of Gonski.