Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hutchins for his question. The new national education agreement represents an unprecedented investment in schooling and an unprecedented commitment to education reform. The total amount of funding under this particular agreement is now $46.5 billion over four years, starting on 1 January. This includes funding for national priorities over this time frame. If we include all government measures under Minister Gillard, we now have a total commitment of $58.63 billion. This represents a 29 per cent increase in the level of support for schooling in the Commonwealth of Australia under this government.

The national education agreement will in fact usher in a new era of transparency and accountability. It will link investment to outcomes, and the allocation of resources will be based on firm evidence. It will include evidence about each school’s results, its staff, its finances and, of course, the student population that it serves. For the first time, all of this information will be made available to parents, to teachers and to communities in a form which will actually permit meaningful national comparisons.

The aim of this agreement is to drive reform across the school system, reform that will ensure every Australian child receives a world-class education. This is a key to increasing equity and social inclusion, to boosting productivity and underpinning Australia’s future prosperity. The national education agreement will be bolstered by a series of national partnerships to achieve specific objectives. These include the $550 million national partnership on improving teacher quality, a $1.1 billion national—(Time expired)