Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to this matter of public importance, that being the Abbott government's refusal to rule out further cuts to health and education in my state, New South Wales. We are obviously on the eve of a state election, and we are six weeks out now from the next federal budget. I will put to this place that the commitments that were made on the eve of the last election that there would be no cuts to health and no cuts to education have obviously not been met.

On budget night last year, almost a year ago to the day, we learned that the commitment of the government to a Gonski unity ticket applied only to the first four years of Labor's six-year transition. Their long-term allocation of Commonwealth funding for schools is not consistent with the principles and reforms recommended by the Gonski panel. The Liberal Party's pre-election policy on higher education stated that they would, firstly, ensure the continuation of the current arrangements of university funding and, secondly, work with the sector to reduce the burden of red tape, regulation and reporting.