Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

Education is the pillar on which this strategy stands or falls and it is the key to all life chances. It is the gateway to quality jobs and it is the only way to break the cycle of exclusion. It must be the focus of all governments and all communities—and we have not stood idly on this.

Take the Northern Territory, where Labor governments—federal and Territory—have brought seven new high schools and 200 additional teachers to the bush. We support the parents and teachers who support the kids, and our plan for school improvement is the next critical step. We will fund schools according to their need and we will measure them by their success. We will ensure that all of our children get a decent crack of life, and we want to ensure that, in one area where we are lagging in terms of our objectives on literacy and numeracy, determined action is taken to overcome this deficiency.