Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Siewert for the question. I acknowledge her interest in these matters. I will help her to the extent that I can; I will have to take the rest of the question on notice. As Minister Macklin and the Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, have made clear, we believe stronger measures are required to ensure school attendance. We know that school attendance is necessary for good outcomes in children’s lives and that if they do not attend school their chances for success later in life are much poorer. We need to find ways of encouraging greater parental responsibility so that parents make clear their expectation that children go to school.

I know that we have debated this previously in the context of Indigenous children and the very poor school attendance rates in many Indigenous communities. The whole Senate would join me in acknowledging that tackling that problem is very important to those children’s life chances. It is one of the reasons why this government has invested in the nought to five years of children’s lives and made them such a priority. We know that the investment early in their habits will have a huge pay-off in their later life but also in terms of their connection with the education system. As the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Macklin made clear, the question of dealing with the trial of measures linking school attendance to welfare is a trial in eight communities across Australia affecting 3,300 children. One of those is in the senator’s home state of WA, in Cannington.

I want to stress, though, that the measures are a last resort. They are designed to encourage parents to take positive steps towards improving their children’s education. A decision to withhold a parent’s income support will not be taken lightly. It will be a last resort where it is shown that, despite help from the principal, teachers and Centrelink, the parent is continuing to fail to exercise their basic responsibility as a parent to ensure their child is enrolled and attending school. There is a reason why we have compulsory schooling in this country. We think it is a public good. We think every child should have the opportunity to have proper schooling. That is why it is compulsory in this country. If parents are failing to meet their obligations to ensure their children attend school, you do have to do something; you do have to take measures. As we know, in a range of areas, we have just failed to get some parents to take on those responsibilities.

There are a range of issues that you have quite correctly pointed out that go to supporting this program, to ensuring that it does not unfairly impact on the children themselves when we deal with the welfare payment issue. Those will be put in place, and I am happy to get further information for the senator on those. But I also say that in terms of her first question as to whether the measure is purely in the suburb of Cannington or in the Centrelink area of Cannington I have to say that I do not know the answer to that. It is not included in my brief. I will get the senator an answer to that specific question as soon as I can. Also, I will get her further information on the question of the support measures being put in place.