Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. I refer the minister to the Prime Minister's speech to the National Press Club last Monday, in which she was expected to comprehensively respond to the Gonski review. Given that the Prime Minister failed to provide any detail, when will the government finally come clean with the Australian public and release detailed costings of its school funding reforms?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said previously, we on this side will comply with Peter Costello's Charter of Budget Honesty. I can make that commitment here in this chamber and I hear this well of silence over there from all the modest members and all the Costello acolytes, who love to tell me how wonderful Peter is, but do not want to comply with his Charter of Budget Honesty. The reality is that the Prime Minister gave a very comprehensive speech to the Press Club.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Where's the money coming from? When are you going to tell us?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not know if those opposite have noticed that Mr Pyne has actually said that they may not repeal it and they may keep it, which means they are going to have to find the money too. I bet that did not go to the shadow ERC. Maybe Senator Mason could inform the chamber about that.

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

I don't think they have a shadow ERC!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They keep adding people to it. Obviously the policy issue is one the Labor government does believe is extremely important. Education is something this government and this party have long prioritised. The Prime Minister laid out in very substantial detail how Australia has slipped down relevant world rankings.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I raise a point of order: the minister is not being directly relevant to the question. The question asked one thing: when will costings be released? That is the only thing that was asked. No approach to answering that question has been made.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is becoming a habit, where Senator Brandis gets up and rephrases the question into how he thinks it has been put. I definitely recall Senator Mason referring to the Prime Minister's Press Club speech. In fact, he made certain descriptions of the speech, which Senator Wong has been highlighting as being simply not accurate.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I believe the minister has been answering the question. The minister still has 34 seconds remaining to address the question.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, I was responding to the questions about the Gonski review and the Prime Minister's response. In terms of the decisions around funding, obviously all decisions need to be on a firm fiscal footing, which is why this government has a track record of making savings. It is why we are returning the budget to surplus. It is why we took nearly $34 billion worth of savings in the last budget and why we have taken $100 billion of savings— (Time expired)

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the Gonski review recommends that an additional $6.5 billion per year be spent on schools—a figure the Prime Minister committed to in her speech to the National Press Club—can the minister advise the Senate where the money will come from? Given the government's $120 billion budget black hole, can the minister guarantee that the government's so-called school funding reform will not saddle students of today with more debt and higher taxes that they will have to pay for tomorrow?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the best thing for the senator to do would be to read the Prime Minister's speech, because she spoke in detail about not only the reforms but also the importance of having these reforms on a sound fiscal footing. She referred to the fact, for example, that those opposite have opposed structural saves such as the private health insurance rebate which will continue to provide savings to the budget for decades to come—opposed by the opposition who now want to come in here and talk about the long-term funding position. Again, it all comes down to this: we will—as we have done previously and we will again prior to this election—comply with the Charter of Budget Honesty; those opposite have no credibility until they make the same commitment.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given the government has already spent $20 billion over the past five years on its education 'revolution', how can anyone believe this government when it embarks on the education 'crusade' with a $120 billion budget black hole, a policy that is unfunded and that will not be fully phased in for at least another eight years?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So this is the policy that you are now going to keep? That is the one you are asking me about? You are now going to keep—

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You don't know what the policy is!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will take the interjection: Senator Brandis says, 'You don't know what our policy is.' Well, it sounds like you do not know. Are you repealing it or are you not? Are you funding it or are you repealing it? The reality is whenever this government has come to parliament with structural saves we have seen the opposition say, 'We don't agree with it.' With the private health insurance rebate, the opposition's position is that it is better to ensure we continue to provide a tax break to millionaires than to fund a whole range of other health programs. That is the position of the opposition. You have no credibility when it comes to long-term structural funding changes—no credibility whatsoever. The party that decried changes in the budget as 'class warfare', then came in with their tail between their legs and voted for some of these policies, has no credibility.(Time expired)