Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens have been abundantly clear all the way through this debate, since we saw the government's legislation, that we do not support the Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017 in its current form. We have given effect to that by voting against it in the House of Representatives when the member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, as a representative of our united party room on this issue voted against the legislation.

I am going to speak at some length in my speech about the principles with which the Australian Greens are approaching this issue, but before I do I want to briefly respond to some of the comments made by Senator Collins, who just resumed her seat. Firstly, she is claiming that Labor, when in government, 'settled the school funding wars'. I have rarely heard a piece of spin that bears so little relationship with reality.