Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Can I answer the honourable member’s question this way. Before the election of the Rudd Labor government, independent and Catholic schools were funding the introduction of computers wholly and solely through fees and fundraising. What are they doing now? They have a government that has a National Secondary School Computer Fund of $1.2 billion that is working with them. There was no dedicated fund for computers in schools prior to this government. Prior to this government, schools were left to their own devices. There was no dedicated focus, no care or concern from members opposite about computers in schools—absolutely nothing of substance happening. Here is a government that has come along and is prepared to work in partnership with schools with a $1.2 billion investment. What I can certainly say to members opposite is we understand that schools want assistance from government to get computers into schools. We are providing it and there is no-one on this side of the parliament that is so out of touch that they would utter a statement like that uttered by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She said:

… I’m yet to see a school that is not well served with computers.

There is no-one over here that out of touch. We understand schools want assistance, and we are providing it.

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