George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all honourable senators for their contributions to this debate. In response to the inquiry you made of me, Senator Nettle, concerning consultations with state governments in relation to the implementation of this program, I am instructed that there have been and will continue to be consultations at a departmental level between the Commonwealth department and the state and territory departments. I hope that answers your inquiry.

May I say, though, in relation to Senator Nettle’s contribution, as to those of Senator Carr and Senator Allison, that it seems there are some on the left of politics who cannot grasp the notion that schools funding is not a zero-sum game. It is not as though every dollar given to a private school is a dollar taken from a government school. One of the hallmark achievements of the Howard government has been to increase, in absolute terms, Commonwealth support for both private and government schools in the course of the last 11 years. I do not have the figures readily at hand but, as Senator Carr, who I know takes a close interest in this matter, well knows, the extent of Commonwealth investment in both sectors of school education—government and private schooling—has massively expanded under the Howard government. How can it be, when there is a significant increase in the allocation of funding to both sectors, that one can imagine that this is a zero-sum game? In fact it is a win-win situation for schools education overall.

In summing up, may I say that the Australian government makes a substantial investment in education, providing approximately $33 billion to government and non-government schools over the period 2005-08 and delivering genuine choice for Australian parents. Funding for state government schools has risen by close to 70 per cent in real terms since 1996, while enrolments have risen just 1.2 per cent. That gives the lie to your proposition, Senator Carr, as it does to that of Senator Nettle and Senator Allison, that money paid to non-government schools is money taken from government schools. There has been a massive, 70 per cent increase in real terms since 1996. I do not hear you applauding that, Senator Carr, I am sorry to say. The enrolments, however, during that period of 70 per cent increase in funding have risen by only 1.2 per cent. It remains the fact that state schools enrol 67 per cent of students and receive 75 per cent of total public funding for schools.

State governments have primary responsibility for education in state government schools. They own-operate under the major source of funding for state government schools. While the Australian government supplements that funding as a percentage of the state investment, few people realise that if state governments increased their investment federal funding would increase automatically. There is a shared responsibility between the state and federal governments. State governments accredit and regulate non-government schools, while the Australian government provides the majority of public funding.

Through the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Bill 2007 to amend the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004, the Australian government continues its commitment to invest in young Australians in regional and remote areas to deliver stronger educational outcomes for all students regardless of where they live. The Australian government is providing an additional $121.1 million in funding over four years for regional and remote schools as part of the budget’s Realising Our Potential package for education. This funding will support students at more than 400 non-government rural and remote schools through a loading under the general recurrent grants program. The funding is being provided in recognition of the high cost of delivering educational services in regional and remote areas of Australia and the negative impact that this can have on student achievement levels. There is clear evidence that rural and remote students do not achieve as highly as their peers in metropolitan areas, and through this bill the Australian government is seeking to rectify this. In addition, two recent Australian government reports demonstrated significant inequity in access to education between regional and metropolitan students: the report Science, ICT and mathematics education in rural and regional Australia: the SiMERR national survey of 2006 and the report The impact of drought on secondary education access in regional and remote areas, also of 2006.

In levels of reading, writing and numeracy across all years in 2005, significantly more students in metropolitan and provincial locations met the benchmarks, relatively speaking, than did students in remote and very remote locations. I refer in particular to the National report on schooling in Australia 2005. National benchmark results: reading, writing and numeracy, years 3, 5 and 7, where Senator Carr, if he cares to interest himself in the matter, may find the statistics that form the basis for that conclusion. International studies, such as the Program for International Student Assessment and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, show that metropolitan students generally perform better than their regional counterparts. The Australian government recognises the unique hardships regional and remote schools face, and these funds will enable schools to target those areas that most seriously affect their capacity to enhance educational outcomes for their students. This additional funding will now be available for non-government schools and will allow them to direct resources to assist their most educationally disadvantaged students. Funding can be used towards improving the educational opportunities for students in these regions by attracting quality teachers, increasing staff retention rates or improving teacher access to professional development, thereby ensuring that students in regional and remote areas are able to achieve their potential.

Building on the success of the existing English as a Second Language—New Arrivals Program, the Australian government, through the second measure in this bill, will double the per capita amount of support for eligible humanitarian entrant students. The increased funding will flow through state and territory government and non-government education authorities. Increased funding for intensive English language tuition is aimed at promoting the successful settlement and integration of newly arrived humanitarian students in Australian primary and secondary schools. It does this by recognising that English proficiency is one of the best ways to improve educational outcomes and future employability and to smooth the pathway to broader participation in Australian society.

The second measure in the bill implements a humanitarian settlement initiative. The bill will provide increased per capita funding to assist with intensive English as a second language tuition for school students entering Australia under the humanitarian program. The Australian government has implemented this measure on the basis of evidence identified in the 2006 MCEETYA Schools Resourcing Taskforce discussion paper entitled ‘Funding for English as a second language for new arrival students’ and the whole-of-government strategy to improve settlement outcomes for humanitarian interests. The English as a Second Language—New Arrivals Program does not set out to fund the total cost of intensive English language tuition. It is provided to assist with the costs of this important support but recognises that all levels of government are partners in the successful settlement and integration of newly arrived migrants.

The Australian government’s increased contribution under the English as a Second Language—New Arrivals Program combines with other federal education funding, such as the general recurrent grants program and targeted funding for students with a language background other than English through the Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs Program, to form a substantial package of support for these students. The focus of Australia’s humanitarian migration program centres on those groups of international refugees who are in greatest need of resettlement, which has meant that they need much longer in the initial phase of intensive English language tuition and, as such, the increase in funding announced as part of this package is confined to this group of students.

The Howard government is committed to supporting a quality school education for all Australian children, whether they attend government or non-government schools and whether they attend schools in capital cities, provincial centres or regional and remote parts of Australia. The program and the initiatives that it is putting in place are helping to create an Australian education system of high national standards, national consistency and quality so that all young people are prepared to meet the future demands of life and work. This bill reinforces the Howard government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that Australian children are given the best opportunity to have a quality learning experience in the best possible environment. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question put:

That the amendment (Senator Carr’s) be agreed to.