Sue Lines (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

He is in the Liberal government. It does not matter. Suddenly they make a distinction: 'Oh, he's a National; he's not part of us.' Well, he is part of you. He is the Minister for Education in the New South Wales government, and he has outlived the succession of education ministers we have had in the Abbott-Turnbull government. He has been the minister for quite some time, and he is in lock step with Labor. What did this minister in the New South Wales Liberal-National Party government, the biggest Liberal-National Party government of all the states, say? He said:

… NSW will continue to advocate for the full Gonski funding in its agreement with the Commonwealth government.

He has said that over and over again, so he is certainly in lock step with Labor, because he trusts Labor on education. He certainly does not trust the Turnbull government's thought bubbles and endless commitments or promises to be broken. As soon as the election is over, those promises will disappear—mark my words.

Meanwhile, Labor has had a detailed policy in the public realm for months, a policy Labor developed with those who know it best: teachers, parents and education experts. Labor will reverse the Turnbull government's cuts to education and we will implement the Gonski reforms on time and in full. Certainly the Liberal-National Party government in New South Wales believe us when we say that, and they back us in on that. Labor's investment will mean more classroom support for students, early intervention programs in schools, additional literacy and numeracy programs and teachers having the tools to better track student achievement.

Earlier this year I chaired the Senate inquiry into children with disability in our education system. I was really shocked at what poor treatment children with disability have in our education system. What has the Turnbull government done about their education? Nothing. The government system and the non-government system told us absolutely, in clear terms: CPI matched funding is not enough for them. The Catholic education system said that their schools for kids with disability would close. We met with parents who had to fight to even get their kids enrolled. We owe it to children with disability to make sure that they get the education they are entitled to—not the crumbs off the table, not to attend for half a day at a time, not for pressure to be put onto parents to buy the aids necessary to support their education—and that they are treated as learners in our system. That is what Labor will do.

Labor wants all students to achieve their full potential. Our plan is about students, not postcodes. The Gonski review clearly established that our current school funding system, the one the Turnbull government is clinging to, defines school outcomes according to postcode, not student ability. This is wrong, and Labor's education plan will change that. Labor is the only party you can trust on the education commitments we make. Fair education funding is in our DNA, and we will fight for it year in, year out.