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

I thank Senator Furner for his interest in education, an interest I trust that is shared by those opposite as well. Reading is important and it is a very important issue for this parliament. While it is true that Senator Mason has confessed that he is one of those rare Liberals who actually reads a book. Of course, Senator Heffernan has also told us that he has not read a book since he left school. Only recently he told the ABC that this has not held him back in the Liberal Party. Perhaps it is the case that Senator Mason has allowed some spark of enlightenment to continue, but I would suggest that on Senator Heffernan's advice it probably will not do him much good in the Liberal Party.

We on this side take the view that education is critically important to the future of this nation. In the modern world—and I would say, beyond the coalition's front bench—there is no greater obstacle to participation than illiteracy. We know that literacy is the key to opportunity in life and equity in society. We understand that every child should be equipped to succeed; that is why we have almost doubled the amount of investment across all sectors in education when you compare the performance of this government with that of the Howard government.

We are spending some $13 billion a year, yet we are also committed to a national system that will ensure that those benefits are distributed fairly. That is the purpose of the reading blitz, which was announced by the Prime Minister at the weekend. We are asking all schools and every sector in every state to commit to ensure that no child is left behind when it comes to reading and writing. (Time expired)