Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Hansard source

There is more. We have kevin07.com.au, then Kevin 08 and then Kevin 08 version 2. Version 2 in the June estimates was different. This time the government admitted that in fact the aim was to supply one computer for every two students—that is, half as many as they initially said. So we have gone from an allocation of one million laptop computers to about half a million—half the computers they initially said they would provide. But it gets worse, much worse—the shambles goes on, as does the deception. We learnt in estimates that the government had budgeted $1,000 per unit. I can see my friend the chair of the estimates committee in which I serve, Senator Marshall, sitting over there and I am sure he will back me up on this. The government allocated $1,000 per unit: $500 for each laptop and $500 for all the other costs. There are start-up costs such as wiring, connection to the internet, networking computers and cabling. That is all part of the $500. Next are the ongoing costs such as maintenance, repair, insurance, security costs, storage costs, ongoing internet costs, air conditioning, electricity and so on and so on. And this is all part of the $500. Finally, of course, there is the cost to the education system of training teachers, upskilling them to make use of this new technology. All this for $500! It is an absolute fiasco.

The best estimates from industry are that the ratio is about one to four. So, if we have a unit cost of $500, the initial costs, the ongoing costs and the cost for the education of teachers to use this technology is roughly, let us say, $2,000. So it is being underbudgeted by $1,500 per computer. If we have half a million computers times $1,500 then we are left with a huge difference. What a farce. It was a great idea. It gave great visuals. It was great politics, great rhetoric and great spin. But that is exactly where it ends.

So who picks up the bill, because the $500 is not enough? Two groups of people. If the students go to independent schools for years 9 to 12 then their parents will pick up the bill, because the $500 will not pay for all of those costs. If the students go to state schools, where most Australian students go, then state governments will be expected to pick up that bill. What do state governments say about these ongoing costs, the set-up costs and the cost of educating teachers? Let me go through that. What did Mr Carpenter, the late Premier of Western Australia, say—