Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the government is delivering fair, transparent and needs-based funding for all government, independent and Catholic schools, including in Brisbane? Is the Prime Minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Forty-six primary and secondary schools, and more than 26,000 students in the honourable member's electorate of Brisbane, will benefit from the government's record investment in schools. We are investing an extra $18.6 billion in Australian schools over 10 years. Schools from every sector—government, Catholic, independent—will benefit from our record funding.

But we are not just delivering record funding; we are delivering record needs-based funding, as recommended by David Gonski and as endorsed by David Gonski. It is needs-based funding that is fair and transparent. For the first time in Australia, all schools will receive funding from the Commonwealth based on need. Who could possibly object to a funding model that is based on fairness, transparency and need? For years the Leader of the Opposition—all of the opposition, indeed—and, in particular, the member for Sydney have claimed to be the great champions of needs-based funding. The Leader of the Opposition was so devoted that he called for it 75 times. But, now, we have heard from members of the Labor caucus.

Mr Evans interjecting—

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members for Brisbane and Griffith are warned.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney told her colleagues that the Greens would be moronic to support the government school funding package. She claims it would be moronic to support needs-based funding. She, drenched in sanctimony and inconsistency, sits there claiming to be the apostle of equity and fairness, yet she objects to the schools and the students with the greatest need getting the greatest support. What a mockery! What a pathetic trio they are—a shadow education minister that abandons needs-based funding, a Leader of the Opposition running interference for the banks that he claims he wants to subject to a royal commission and, of course, the member for Jagajaga abandoning the commitment to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The opposition have never supported needs-based funding—only rhetorically. What they have supported are 27 secret deals—27 special deals—which Ken Boston, one of the members of the Gonski panel, described as nothing more than a corruption of David Gonski's vision. We are delivering it. We are delivering the actual needs-based funding that Gonski recommended. The opposition should support it. (Time expired)