Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

What is clear is that the only time those opposite care about what they are doing is when they think they can snatch or steal some votes. That is why what they do is a hotchpotch of different deals and special deals. That is why their approach to public policy is like their approach to union negotiations and enterprise bargaining; it is about a deal over here, a deal over there. For them, of course, it is about how they can stitch it up in some way, shape or form. That is why we ended up not with what the Gonski panel recommended but, instead, with 27 different special deals—special deals that have been described as a 'corruption of the Gonski report'.

Senator Cash interjecting—

Indeed, Senator Cash is correct: a number of them have worked for different unions, who know plenty about different issues of corruption—corruption of deals, special deals, different approaches. The Turnbull government stand proud on a record of actually applying consistent, needs based funding to Australian schools, and that is exactly what we are determined to do.