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

I thank Senator Arbib for his question and note that at least he is asking a question to the minister who is actually responsible for this area. Education and innovation go hand in hand. The purpose of the education system is to nurture creativity. The purpose of the innovation system is to harness that creativity. The government’s $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution initiative is a huge, long-term investment in our innovation capacity. It will give schools the physical facilities they need to do their job properly. Remember that there is something in this initiative for each and every Australian school. The Independent Schools Council of Australia ‘supports the inclusive nature of this package’.

The opposition of course have different ideas. They want to slash the investment to $3 billion. That is one-fifth of what is actually needed. Under the opposition’s plan, four out of five schools will miss out. Perhaps Senator Minchin can tell us which South Australian primary schools he wants to deny a hall or a library. Senator Barnett and Senator Abetz, perhaps you can tell us which Tasmanian secondary schools you want to deny urgent maintenance and upgrades.

When you invest in education, you are investing in our capacity to come up with new and better products and services, which is the key to maintaining Australia’s prosperity in an increasingly competitive world. All of this is lost on the opposition. The world is in crisis and they want to play politics. (Time expired)