Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Evans. Can the minister update the Senate on the outcome of the COAG meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in Canberra last weekend and what it means for the provision of government services to the community?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The government went to the last election with a very strong commitment to ending the blame game that so much represented the conflict between the states and the Commonwealth over the provision of services. I think the Australian public understand that that had been a very negative influence on our capacity to deliver services.

The outcome of last weekend’s meeting will deliver better services to Australian families and will be funded from the existing budget surpluses. The historic agreement reached over the weekend also has a strong emphasis on reviving our flagging productivity growth, especially in education and infrastructure investment, which will boost Australia’s economic capacity. The meeting also marked a new beginning in federal-state relations, with governments from across the political divide working together to strengthen the economy, protect jobs and deliver better services to Australian people.

The COAG national reform package will help create 133,000 jobs, it will invest $15.1 billion to stimulate the economy and it will drive significant reform in health, education, housing, business deregulation and the government’s aim of closing the Indigenous life expectancy gap. Through the COAG processes, the Australian government will invest $15.1 billion in a national reform package focused on some of the key challenges in delivering services to Australians. They are looking to focus on those key challenges of improving schools and hospitals and the need to train more quality teachers, nurses and doctors and looking to improve those services that are most important for families in Australia to help provide assurance for them about an education for their kids and their health. (Time expired)

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister please advise the Senate of further details of how the COAG national reform package will improve Australia’s schools?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has committed to funding $42.4 billion over the four years from 2009 for government and non-government schools. This will form the foundation for delivering our government’s education revolution to all of Australia’s schools. The schools funding will be complemented by over $2.2 billion in national partnerships payments to improve literacy and numeracy, to improve principals’ leadership development, to improve teacher quality and to improve educational outcomes in low-socioeconomic school communities. It will lead to greater transparency in our schools and help lift the most disadvantaged schools of the nation. This will deliver for kids the quality education that we all wish for them, allow our teachers to provide the leadership we know they can provide and improve the quality of teaching available to our students. (Time expired)

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister please explain what was done to address concerns about meeting the additional on-costs associated with implementing the government’s computers in schools program?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The federal government will offer states and territories an additional $807 million to meet the legitimate and additional costs of the new computers purchased through the National Secondary School Computer Fund, bringing the total commitment to $2 billion over five years. The additional funding will be paid before the end of the 2008-09 financial year and will cover the legitimate on-costs incurred for computers purchased through round 1 and future on-costs associated with subsequent rounds. Computers provided under the fund, which are replacing those aged four years or older, will continue to attract funding of $1,000 per unit, as the infrastructure is already in place. Schools which have not applied in the first or second rounds for funding will be given an opportunity to apply for the on-costs under a supplementary round 2 process. This program is delivering for Australian kids. (Time expired)