Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I begin my speech I wanted to ensure—just in case the member for Fremantle was not aware—that, indeed, there have been 16 new schools built in Western Australia since 2014. It is a well-known fact that Western Australian teachers are the highest paid in the land. So I think the Barnett government is doing a sterling job in terms of educating the people of Western Australia.

Turning to this ridiculous MPI, given that the Turnbull government is spending more money on Australian schools than ever before, the substance of this MPI really is an untruth. It is an irrefutable fact that the Turnbull government is spending more money on schools than at any time during this nation's history. We are focused on ensuring our young people are equipped with the skills they need to go out into the global jobs market—a competitive, ever-changing jobs market—and win jobs on their own merit. The Turnbull government is facilitating this through innovative programs that aim to encourage young people to access a changing jobs market and encourage well-rounded and employable young people to go on to higher education and skilled training.

We have introduced the Youth Jobs PaTH Program, which is designed to make young people who have finished their training job-ready with internships and placements. This is part of a broad program from this government to properly fund our schools, fund our higher learning institutions, provide pathways for young people and get them job ready.

It is worth noting that we have fixed the shambolic VET FEE-HELP program—initiated by those members opposite—which blew out to an incredible $2.9 billion with student loans programs covered by the scheme increasing a whopping 792 per cent. I bet that was not in the speaking notes for those opposite. We are decluttering the process for Indigenous Australians to access federal programs to help them attend university. And speaking of university, the Turnbull government is currently investing $16 billion in university funding.

There has never been a government more committed to properly funding Australian schools. But it is not just about the billions of taxpayer dollars flowing towards them; we are also switching the focus onto greater efficiency and onto achieving a greater bang for our buck. Despite what the member for Sydney and her colleagues have said we already have needs-based funding, with funds already flowing towards those schools that need it the most. The issue is that the funding model this government inherited from those opposite is broken and flawed, and we are not seeing the expected return on our investment that we should.

We are changing the focus from raw funding to a focus on teacher quality and on effective classrooms, and there is also a focus on effective curriculum. Regrettably, we have heard today in the media that we are lagging behind places like Kazakhstan and Slovenia in terms of our science, technology, engineering and mathematics rates. This is deeply disturbing. We need to change the conversation around this issue towards a more constructive one, focusing on how best to spend the hard-earned taxpayer dollars, not necessarily increasing funding.

This is especially alarming for me, as often in my electorate many of the best jobs require a firm understanding of these subjects. Just last month, I visited Geraldton Grammar School and opened their new STEM building, providing four general learning areas, two science laboratories, two staff areas, two offices and a store room. This will help equip young people in Geraldton and the surrounding region with the all-important STEM skills needed as our economy transitions to a more innovative and mature, skills-based economy.

Those opposite introduced this matter of public importance, and I think we all know that it is blatantly a falsehood. How can we be underfunding schools if they are seeing more money than ever? We should ask ourselves that. By that logic, schools were also underfunded under those opposite. Yet what did they do about it? Where was their responsibility? Where was their accountability?

This government is delivering a strong, holistic package aimed at providing support for schools and training right around the country. But most importantly, this government is delivering for regional and remote Australia, and providing needs-based funding to the schools that need it the most. I am particularly pleased to note that students in rural, regional and remote Australia have never had better access to higher education—something that those opposite did not care about and did nothing about during those six long, dark years when they were running the show. But thanks to this government, another $152 million has been invested in the regional students' access to education package. This package will help more kids from my electorate in the bush to gain access to tertiary education, and it is thanks to us.

See this speech in context