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

My question is to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research representing the Minister for Education, Senator Carr. Can the minister explain to the Senate the economic and educational benefits of the government’s investments in school infrastructure? What level of interest have Australian schools shown in Building the Education Revolution? Can the minister also update the Senate on how many schools and projects have been assisted to date and what further support will be available from the program.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bilyk for that question. Some 70 per cent of the government’s stimulus spending since October has gone to infrastructure. All of the government’s infrastructure investments in the short to medium term of course will support jobs and business activity. They will also build enduring assets, which will continue to deliver benefits to the Australian community into the future. The $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution initiative is a great example of that. Australian parents and educators recognise the urgent need for improved school facilities even if those opposite do not. This program is providing new facilities and refurbishments that will help equip each and every Australian school to meet the demands of the 21st century.

To date, Building the Education Revolution has funded over 20,000 infrastructure projects valued at more than $10.45 billion. Over 5,000 schools received funding for nearly 7,000 projects in the first two rounds of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program. More than 9,000 schools received funding for over 1,300 projects from the National School Pride program. I think we are entitled to know how many of these projects the opposition supports. The demand for this program from Australian school communities, from both the government and the private sectors and from both primary and secondary schools in every state and territory, has been overwhelming. We still have the Science and Language Centres for 21st Century Secondary Schools program to come.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister explain to the Senate how the guidelines for Building the Education Revolution are delivering the government’s objectives? In particular, what safeguards are in place to ensure that taxpayers get value for money? What rules have been established to ensure that design and building practices give sufficient weight to the principle of sustainability and that they produce facilities appropriate to the needs of the school in question? How is the government ensuring that funds are properly targeted and how is it controlling the cost of administration?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The guidelines are stringent and they are clear. As the Deputy Prime Minster has shown, media hysteria about funding going to schools facing the axe has no basis in fact. The guidelines make it clear that no school planned for closure will receive funding and that the funding due to schools planned for amalgamation will be used for the new school. They impose strict obligations on state and territory governments and other block grant authorities, including an obligation to achieve value for money. They provide for close monitoring of project management costs. They require all new buildings and refurbishments to reflect sustainable building principles wherever possible and they provide for the flexible use of design templates to reduce costs and accelerate the rollout. Yet we are still here to hear from the opposition on the question: do they support these projects?

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

Can the minister inform the Senate what impact the various components of Building the Education Revolution are likely to have on local employment opportunities? What impact is the practice of bundling projects to speed work up and reduce costs—a practice adopted by some state and territory governments—likely to have on the distribution of employment opportunities?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government’s economic stimulus plan is designed to create jobs across the country. We expect all projects to achieve value for money, including using local contractors and tradespeople, with priority given to those who are willing to employ apprentices and trainees. It does not matter where the head contractor is based. What matters is where the work is actually done. Investments from Building the Education Revolution are designed to support as many jobs in as many communities and as quickly as possible. The suggestions from those opposite about how the program might work better are sheer hypocrisy. They did not want it to happen at all. They still do not support this project. This is a historic program. It is meeting the urgent needs of school communities right across Australia. You would have expected the opposition to support this, but all we have heard is their opposition coming through.