Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased that the member has asked this question, because the government's plans for school improvement have been well received right around Australia. They have been well received by education stakeholders. They have been well received by, for example, the principals of independent schools. They have been well received by the Independent Education Union and the Australian Education Union. They have been well received by Australian universities. They have been well received by the school sector as a whole. I was pleased to have a phone meeting with state education ministers just last Friday and secure agreement from them that we would continue not only to have discussions but also to lay out this government's plan for school improvement.

The fact is that the only voice out there on the education landscape speaking against improving the opportunities for kids in all schools in Australia is the member for Sturt. When he is asked a question about these things, he goes for a spin-cycle routine of ducking and weaving the question—he cited Alice in Wonderland the other day when I heard him in the media—but the fact of the matter is that this is a plan which has been substantially acknowledged as absolutely central to our prospects as a nation. We are committed to a national plan for school improvement; those opposite are not.

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