Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Canberra school children will not attend school on 28 November 2018 and instead attend Parliament House to protest the 'climate emergency', reportedly with the consent of the ACT Education Directorate,

(ii) the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), that compares OECD student achievement data, showed a significant decline in reading literacy in the ACT and declines in Mathematical and Scientific literacy in the ACT,

(iii) in March 2018, UNICEF declared that the proportion of Australian children achieving at least minimum proficiency in reading or mathematics by 2030 will not be met, and

(iv) in June 2017, UNICEF also found Australia to be 39th out of 41 high and middle income countries achieving a quality education; and

(b) calls upon the Minister for Education, the ACT Government, the ACT Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Education Directorate and school parents, and Education Ministers across the country to prioritise and encourage school attendance to address literacy and numeracy emergencies.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We oppose this motion because it is based on a false statement about the role of the ACT in this action. It's terrific that young people want to get active on the issues that matter to them. Young people want to see the government take serious action on climate change. We share their strong feelings. We don't want to see students missing out on schoolwork. There are plenty of opportunities for young people to campaign for climate action outside of school time, including school holidays and weekends, and we would be the first to support them. Labor set targets to improve Australian schoolchildren's performance, and these targets were scrapped by the government—of which Senator Bernardi was a member at the time—as being red tape. Australian schoolkids should get the best education in the world, and Labor's investments in schools will make this happen.

Question negatived.