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

I rise today to speak on the visits that I had here in parliament last week from school students from Geraldton Grammar School, Port Hedland School of the Air, Carnarvon School of the Air and the Nullagine Remote Community School. I can tell you that all of the students from those schools were impeccably behaved, and they did their communities proud, even though they were very, very cold whilst they were here—as am I, so we have that in common.

All of these students, every single one of them, will benefit from the Turnbull government's school-funding reform package. We are going to see an extra $15 million in additional federal funding for Geraldton Grammar School, an extra $600,000 for the Port Hedland School of the Air, a similar amount to the Carnarvon School of the Air and an additional $1.5 million for the Nullagine Remote Community School. These important reforms are backing the kids in regional Western Australia, and I am very proud to be part of a government that is pushing hard to encourage meaningful reform in regional education.

Madam Deputy Speaker Claydon, I think that you would agree—I know you have some experience in rural Western Australia—that, on a scale of need, it is obvious to everyone that the greatest need for federal government funds is in regional areas. My electorate indeed has some of the most disadvantaged areas, specifically regional areas.