Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question and congratulate her on her swearing in earlier today as a senator for New South Wales. What I am certainly able to indicate to the chamber is that we are committed to our national needs based funding model that works, and is fair and equitable. The difference between our commitment and that of the previous government would be that an equitable funding model includes all states and territories and does not leave out Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The difference between this model and that of the previous government would be that our model is fully national. That is, again, revelatory I know; but it includes all states and territories, not leaving out Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. That model may include a number of issues, like loadings for students with high needs. It will not treat students in the states and territories that were previously excluded by the former government as second-class citizens.

That is why we are replacing the $1.2 billion of funding that Mr Shorten, as the education minister, ripped out of schools funding in this country. Whether one is a member of the House of Representatives or a member of the Senate, I am still able to say that there is only one party in this place that has taken money out of school funding, and that is the Labor Party.