Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is it fair that under this Prime Minister funding for students with disabilities in Tasmania will be cut by one-third or $12 million in 2018?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question and I reject the assertion that she makes in it. The reality is, as she knows, that there is $18.6 billion of additional funding going into schools. It is rigorously needs based, and one of the elements of special needs is in fact disabilities, as she knows, and so students with disabilities will get more funding over the course of that period. So it is a very clear transparent needs based process.

The honourable member for Sydney has set out consistently to mislead and frighten parents with her remarks about this, and I want to draw the honourable member's attention to this. She says in one of her statements called the facts on school funding: 'As an outrage, Malcolm Turnbull wants to give private schools 80 per cent of their fair level of funding and public schools just 20 per cent.' The federal government has been the major funder of non-government schools for a very long time and a smaller but rapidly increasing funder of public schools. This is—

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

The member for Sydney will resume her seat. There is no point of order.

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

And then she goes on to say—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a second. The member for Sydney will not debate with me by way of interjection or she will not be in the chamber. She is warned.

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

She says, 'Under Malcolm Turnbull's policy, more than half of funding goes to private schools. That is despite the fact private schools only account for around 30 per cent of the nation's schools.'

An opposition member: Yes.

'Yes,' they say. Is that an outrage? What about state governments? The fact that the Commonwealth is the major government funder of non-state and -territory schools has been the case for many decades, under Labor and Liberal governments. This is just an example of the pathetic, misleading diatribes that we get from the member for Sydney.

We have an opportunity now to bring the school funding wars to an end. This is not about politicians. This is not about education unions. This is not about education bureaucrats. This is about our children. It is about their future. It is ensuring that they get the needs based funding they deserve, whatever school they are in, whatever state they are in, whatever system they are in. When they have special needs, they get the funding they need. We then do the work to ensure that, with Gonski 2.0, they get the quality education they need so that they can be top of the class right around the world.

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

Right on cue, the member for Lalor, who has been warned, can leave under 94(a). The member for Sydney is seeking to table a document.

The member for Lalor then left the chamber .

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to table the document that clearly shows the cuts to students with a disability.

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

Leave is not granted.