George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Another false premise. In fact, there is no such cut as you suggest, Senator Gallagher. There is, in fact, had you been listening to Senator Birmingham in question time yesterday, an increase in school funding over the next 10 years by $18.6 billion. But this is Labor Party economics. Senator Gallagher dreams up a pie-in-the-sky number for which there is no funding available, compares it to the government's number—an increase of $18.6 billion—for which there is funding, subtracts one from the other and says, 'That's a cut!' No, Senator Gallagher, it is an $18.6 billion increase in school funding—an increase, by the way, based on a methodology that puts fairness and needs-based funding at the centre of the system. That is an $18.6 billion increase (Time expired)