Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Energy representing the Minister for Education and Training. Will the minister inform the House how the government's needs based funding model will provide the greatest funding increases to the most disadvantaged students in schools in Brisbane, like the St Agnes school in Mount Gravatt and Rochedale State School, Rochedale, both in my electorate of Bonner? Is the minister aware of the Queensland government's record on funding public schools, and is the minister aware of any other approaches?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bonner for his question. I know that he is deeply committed to the Turnbull government's massive boost to school funding throughout this country—$18.6 billion, a 75 per cent increase; more than 9,000 schools will benefit. There are 45 schools in the electorate of Bonner, with 27,000 students, and they will benefit from the Turnbull government's announcement—like the Rochedale school, with more than 1,300 students, which will get an extra $11 million, and like the St Agnes Catholic Primary School, with more than 300 students, which will get a significant funding boost of more than $4 million. I am asked about funding by the Queensland government for public schools in that state. The most recent Productivity Commission report provides telling reading, because it says that the Queensland government has increased funding for public schools by only 2.1 per cent. Commonwealth funding for Queensland public schools during the same time has increased by 9.5 per cent—a complete contrast.

I am asked about alternative approaches. We know that the Leader of the Opposition claimed that Catholic schools will face fee increases. The member for Sydney went even further: she said that there will be fee increases and schools will close. So, what does the executive director of the Brisbane Catholic Education Office say when she writes to all her parents? I quote—listen closely: 'We will receive an increase in government funding, not a reduction. We thank the federal government for its continuing support and its commitment to providing fair and equitable funding for the next decade.'

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Hear, hear' says the coalition's front bench and back bench, because we know that we are increasing funding significantly to more than 9,000 schools. So I say to the member for Sydney, go and say to the schools across your electorate that under the Turnbull government's plan they will receive, on average, $2.5 million more. And in the electorate of the member for Maribyrnong, do you know how much more the average school will receive under the Turnbull government? $7.5 million. Over $7 million! Only the coalition, not the Labor Party, can be counted on to deliver better funding, better targeted funding for 9,000-plus schools across the country.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last night every member of the government voted not once, not twice but six times, in the House, to push through billion-dollar cuts to schools in this country—a cut which, according to this document from the Prime Minister's own office—

Mr Pyne interjecting—

Mr Frydenberg interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting. The Minister for the Environment and Energy will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition will commence his question again from the beginning.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last night every member of the government voted not once, not twice but six times, in the House, for cuts to school funding—a cut which, according to this document from the Prime Minister's own office, means that $22 billion will be ripped away from schools over the next 10 years. Prime Minister, how is it fair that your government is cutting $22 billion from schools at the same time as you are giving $65 billion to big business in tax cuts?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How is it fair that honourable members have to have such an exercise in hypocrisy and cant inflicted on them? This is the Leader of the Opposition who said again and again, 75 times, that needs based funding was a commitment of the Labor Party, and the Liberals and the Nationals had abandoned it. Again and again he went on about needs based funding. That is exactly what we have delivered. He said, 'Labor is absolutely committed to the Gonski needs based funding formula. We believe fundamentally that needs based funding will give our children across Australia the best start in life.'

The fact is that they corrupted the Gonski vision. We are delivering the Gonski model of needs based funding as David Gonski and his panel recommended, consistent and transparent across Australia. More importantly than anything, we do not need the endorsement of the Leader of the Opposition, because he swings from one side of the fence to the other. We have David Gonski's endorsement. David Gonski stood up with the education minister and me and confirmed that the policy that we were presenting, the $18.6 billion of additional funding over a decade, the needs based formula that was being applied to every school in Australia, regardless of what state it was in and whether it was a government school or a non-government school—David Gonski confirmed that fulfilled the recommendations he had made.

He confirmed need based funding, fair, equitable, right across the country, additional funding for every school—and, as the minister confirmed a moment ago, not least the schools in the Leader of the Opposition's electorate. The Leader of the Opposition's nonsense—his hypocrisy, his inconsistency, his secret deals—have run out of credibility. The time has come for Labor to honour and live up to the rhetoric it has been mounting for years and years, and to back the Gonski needs based funding formula that my government is delivering.