Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

In the minute or so remaining I will respond briefly to Senator Brown. I refer him to the Stolen Generations Reparations Tribunal Bill 2010, introduced by Senator Siewert, which has absolutely no costings in it whatsoever. Senator Brown’s speech in this debate was a pathetic attempt to justify the position of the Greens in not supporting this bill. The Education Investment Fund, which has been ticked off by the Treasury, is the appropriate place for this funding to come from. The government certainly cannot complain that it is an inappropriate place for the funding to come from. In June 2009, it raided the fund for $2.5 billion for its Clean Energy Initiative, which is not related at all to education. It is a very sad day, Senator Brown, when you miss an opportunity to support those regional students you purport to represent, but by voting against this bill, which you obviously intend doing, you will let those regional students down. No amount of fancy words that you use can take away the fact that you will have voted against regional students.

Bill agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment; report adopted.