Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The cost of living is accelerating across Australia, and we need serious action to directly provide support to people and families, instead of heaping billions on private corporations. Serious action includes funding our public schools. The vast majority of public schools in this country are desperately underfunded. More students are disengaging, and performance is dropping. When the Labor government continues to underfund public schools, it is the parents, families and teachers who are left to pay the difference. Unable to access a fully funded public school—there are only 1.3 per cent of those in the country—more and more people are forced to fork out for entry to a private school. If they do stick with their local public school, they end up covering the cost of funding shortfalls.

My comrade in Queensland, Amy MacMahon, found families were paying on average between $1,500 and $2,000 to send their kids to state schools, paying for things like classroom stationery, course supplies, excursions and technology. This is putting real pressure on families. A public school should not be something you're forced to budget for. Overworked teachers are often forced to pay for basic educational resources their schools can't afford, and they're leaving in droves. The Australian Education Union found that, on average, teachers are spending $159 million per year out of their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies. Public schools must be truly free and this starts by immediately fully funding all public schools across the country.