Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, Senator Kim Carr. We live in one of the most prosperous nations on earth and yet there are almost eight million people in this country who have problems with reading. What is the government doing to ensure that no child has to grow up in the 21st century without the basic capacity to read?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his interest in education, an interest I trust that is shared by those opposite as well. Reading is important and it is a very important issue for this parliament. While it is true that Senator Mason has confessed that he is one of those rare Liberals who actually reads a book. Of course, Senator Heffernan has also told us that he has not read a book since he left school. Only recently he told the ABC that this has not held him back in the Liberal Party. Perhaps it is the case that Senator Mason has allowed some spark of enlightenment to continue, but I would suggest that on Senator Heffernan's advice it probably will not do him much good in the Liberal Party.

We on this side take the view that education is critically important to the future of this nation. In the modern world—and I would say, beyond the coalition's front bench—there is no greater obstacle to participation than illiteracy. We know that literacy is the key to opportunity in life and equity in society. We understand that every child should be equipped to succeed; that is why we have almost doubled the amount of investment across all sectors in education when you compare the performance of this government with that of the Howard government.

We are spending some $13 billion a year, yet we are also committed to a national system that will ensure that those benefits are distributed fairly. That is the purpose of the reading blitz, which was announced by the Prime Minister at the weekend. We are asking all schools and every sector in every state to commit to ensure that no child is left behind when it comes to reading and writing. (Time expired)

Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given this emphasis on the national approach, what are the implications of the separate funding model recently announced by the Victorian government, apparently supported by the governments of Queensland and Western Australia?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While education should be the priority of all governments, clearly some in this country would rather pick a fight with the Commonwealth than meet their responsibilities. It is a very cute strategy that is being pursued in Victoria, and now followed by a number of other states, where we see an attempt to try to blame the Commonwealth for the cuts that those state governments have imposed. We see in Victoria that they have already tried to blame their teachers—and they have failed. They have taken the teachers' union to court and they have failed.

Now, they are looking for new ways to cover up the fact that they are cutting the budget. The fact remains that in Victoria the cuts have been in excess of half a billion dollars. Then they tell us that they want to keep the old Howard government model of school funding. But they should be very careful of what they wish for, because when you couple the funding cuts that Liberal governments have imposed— (Time expired)

Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. How does the government respond to suggestions from the states that the Commonwealth should not interfere with matters of school strategy?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have heard the education minister in Queensland tell us that the states run schools. He has a view that is shared by a number of state politicians. We have heard the same refrain from these politicians as was heard at the beginning of Federation in this country when it came to railway gauges. It was the same mentality. It is true that the states have very important powers under the Constitution, but we say that with that power comes responsibility. Responsibility to pay your share; responsibility to collaborate with other governments across the nation, particularly the Commonwealth; and responsibility to ensure that students are put ahead of party political gains, which is not what we are seeing at the moment. A national plan will ensure that every child in every school receives the best education that this country can afford, and it is based on the best evidence. (Time expired)