Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Tasmanian Liberal government have been crowing about record education spending, but the government, Deputy Speaker Claydon, are lying, because it turns out that they've actually been cutting money from education for years. Indeed, the Productivity Commission's report on government services in 2018, which was released last week, cuts through the spin and tells us the real story about how much the Tasmanian government spends on education. It found that real Tasmanian government expenditure on public schools has been slashed from $846 million in 2012-13 to $844 million in 2013-14, $833 million in 2014-15 and $811 million in 2015-16. That's a cut of $35 million in just three years. Imagine how many teachers, classroom resources and vital programs, such as music and art, that could buy. It's no surprise, then, that the Australian Education Union are reporting that there are fewer teachers and bigger class sizes in Tasmanian state schools. An AEU survey also found teachers and parents dipping into their own pockets to help pay for stationery, classroom supplies, library resources and even school maintenance. It's simply disgraceful for the minister, Jeremy Rockliff, to try to pull the wool over Tasmanians' eyes and to use federal Gonski money to claim record investment. The reality is that Tasmanian government education funding has been going down, and for the minister to claim otherwise makes him a bold-faced liar.