Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I would like the clock to be readjusted. They have taken away valuable time in which I could be making the point that this government, on education, on health and on every aspect of their budget, refuses to listen. We have a government that is hell-bent on taking money from school kids, taking away valuable resources and attacking the Catholic Education System. We know that one in five children in this country are educated in the Catholic Education System. That is about choice. We know that at least a third of those children are not Catholics. So it is not about Catholics versus other private schools or the state school system. In regional areas in the majority of instances the Catholic schools are supporting families—it is not just about education—who need help over and above the education of their own children. This is about a social conscience.

Those on the other side clearly do not understand what fairness is, because there is nothing fair in the legislation before us. A smart government would listen to what the sector is telling them and then go away and re-draft the legislation. They could re-draft it and have the support of this chamber, but they do not want to do it, because they are so arrogant, so out of touch and so confident that it does not matter if the education system, or the Catholics, or the unions or the teachers campaign against them until the next election, along with us. They are so arrogant that it will not have any impact on them at all. They ought to look back at what happened on 2 July, when the Prime Minister himself had to dig into his very deep pockets and fund the Liberals' campaign. He bought his way into government and he may very well have to do the same thing when it comes to education. We know this because we are listening to the community. We know the value of education and what it means to our economy. It is an investment. It is not a cost. But those on the other side will always put the big end of town first. Those on the other side who have very deep pockets look forward to your taxation cut at the expense of school children. That is all right for senators on the other side, but I will never do it. I would never put your very deep pockets above children in this country, because they deserve the very best. It is no wonder you are so out of touch. You are so arrogant and so rich that you do not worry about having a social conscience. If you did you would withdraw that legislation and go back to the drawing board and then you have some hope of getting it passed. But you are so arrogant. And we have the Nationals in rural Australia. Who provides education there. It is the Catholics. They come in here crying crocodile tears about regional Australia when it suits them. You have the option indeed today to withdraw it and then come back and then it will get passed. Don't cry crocodile tears in this place.