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

(—) (): What I will do is stand up for ensuring the support is there in the classroom for students with disability, including students who may have autism. I will stand up for the support for them and their families and ensure that that is the type of differentiated support that they deserve, recognising of course that each of their cases is unique and different. Our changes, by applying the nationally consistent definition of students with a disability, will help 470,000 students around the country receive support. Current arrangements, which the Labor Party are voting to keep, only assist 212,000 students, so I will tell you what is shameful. What a shameful is the hypocrisy of the Labor Party coming into this place, pleading for students with disability, but then voting against additional support for 258,000 students with disability. That is what is shameful: the hypocrisy of those opposite who will not do the right thing to help deliver the support to the students who need it most. (Time expired)