Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to stand and give what is a small contribution to the discussion on the tabling of the report of the Select Committee on School Funding and to recommend the dissenting report from the government senators who participated in this inquiry as compulsory reading for those who are interested in fact not fiction. I will go to that in a little more detail.

I would just like to quote from our report, following on from Senator Wright's commentary and the assumptions she makes about those of us on this side of the chamber and what we think the birthright of young Australians is to access equitable, high-quality, excellent public and private education in this country. We do not resile from that. I find it offensive that those sorts of assumptions and comments are bandied about the public sphere willy-nilly with no opportunity for us to put our position on the record and correct it—

Senator Wright interjecting—

as I have often done within the committee itself, Senator Wright. I outlined that government senators are passionate about equitable access to an excellent education for every young Australian, and that is exactly what we are looking forward to delivering.

The minority report corrects much of the rhetoric of the Greens and Labor senators in the majority report, and I would just like to highlight a couple of particular aspects which go to the assumptions and the commentary around the lack of disability funding from the coalition with respect to school funding. There is more funding from the Commonwealth for students with a disability than ever before. That is the fact of the matter. There is $4.8 billion available over the forward estimates within this budget for students with a disability, including $1.1 billion in this financial year, $1.2 billion the year after, $1.3 billion the next year and $1.3 billion for the 2017-18 year. So it is completely erroneous for the opposition parties to bandy about the fact that the coalition government is not interested in supporting students with a disability within our school system.

The other issue I just want to briefly touch on is the claim that there was this—and I think it was Senator Collins talking—'groundbreaking consensus' of the Gonski report. It is the groundbreaking consensus that saw different deals done for different states and different sectors. We had a different configuration of the so-called model at every single corner. Every time then Minister Garrett stood up and issued a press release it was to construct a completely different meaning of the Gonski model with different states. The same department that served the previous government and currently serves our government recognised during Senate estimates and put on the record that it was the coalition government that delivered the national needs based funding model for schools. So, go figure. Same deputy secretary, same—

Opposition senators interjecting—

So, there we go. Facts are on the table, and you do not like the facts. It is not often that I go to the ABC to reiterate my points, but I will, only because Senator Collins again raised the national needs based funding model and the cuts made by the federal government to school funding. It was the ABC Fact Check that absolutely states for the record that it is erroneous.

Senator Jacinta Collins interjecting—

What you are claiming, Senator Collins, is erroneous. It says, 'In reality'—all right, I will take the interjection.