Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Earlier this month the Minister for Education claimed, 'The government has guaranteed preschool funding.' But page 32 of Budget Paper No. 3 shows there is no funding for preschools after next year. Will the Treasurer guarantee four years of funding for preschool for every four-year-old in this year's midyear financial update?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a bit like how the member for Lilley, when he got up at this despatch box, said, 'I guarantee four years of surpluses tonight.' I remember that. The answer, as you know, is that we have guaranteed funding for early childhood to 2019. You know that. You also know that we continue to have a discussion with the states and territories. You also know that when the Leader of the Opposition got up and announced his early childhood spending proposals, he was expecting the states to do all of the heavy lifting but he hadn't even got their agreement. He didn't even ask them.

One thing I can confirm to this House is that, when we put more money into our schools, when we put more money into our universities and early childhood, when we put more money into the pockets of Australians, we fund it. We fund it because we've improved the health of the budget. We inherited growth in spending going at about four per cent per annum. We have halved it to the lowest level in 50 years. We inherited $210 billion worth of debt. We are bringing the budget back into balance. Only we will deliver better educational outcomes.