Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I very much enjoyed the contribution made to the debate by the member for Franklin. Education is fundamental; it is the basis of a peaceful society, of a prosperous society, of a productive society and of a humane society. The hope for a better world, of course, is in education. The hope to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots is in education. The hope that we will solve the wars that Australians are currently involved in is in education. The hope that Australia can maintain a country with strong employment is in education. The hope that all Australians can have at least equity and opportunity is in education. The hope for Australians to be healthier and live longer is in education. The hope for Australia to move from being one of the world’s worst polluters per head is in education. The hope that we can solve the mess that we have made of our planet is in education. ‘Education’, in my view, is another word for ‘hope’. That is why Labor’s education revolution is so important.

That is why the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, as one of the major planks in Labor’s education revolution, is critical. Our future workforce will be dominated by high-value skills and knowledge based industries. Australian manufacturing will be a specialist, knowledge based manufacturing economy. Our employment base in traditional manufacturing and primary and heavy industries has been declining. We need to equip our children with the right skills for these future industries. Today this is an enormous challenge. Of the many failings of the previous conservative government, perhaps the greatest of all was the massive skills black hole that they left behind. Not only is there a huge deficit in the skills and traditional trades; there is also a deep and widespread skills shortage for future industries. As usual, the task of rebuilding the education and skill base of our nation has fallen back to a Labor government—this time a Rudd Labor government. This legislation is an important part of the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to an education revolution. The commitments in this bill seek to increase the attainment level of Australian students across the board and provide better education for our children. The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is aimed at assisting families with children undertaking primary and secondary school studies to meet the costs of school education through assistance with a wide range of education expenses.

This legislation proposes an education tax refund for 1.3 million families with children undertaking primary and secondary school education. It allows these families to claim a 50 per cent tax offset each year. This will provide significant financial assistance to families to help meet the costs of educating their children. Under the education tax refund, eligible families and approved care organisations will be able to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax offset every year for up to $750 of eligible expenses for each child undertaking primary school. This refund equates to a tax offset of up to $375 per child per year for educational expenses incurred. Families who have children undertaking secondary school studies, including vocational education and training courses, will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child, which equates to a $750 tax offset each year. As a part of Labor’s education revolution, we will also be better supporting teachers and the further development of school curriculums. We are providing a massive boost to the availability of technology in schools as well through our More Computers in Schools program and our support for continuous integration of information technology into education.

This legislation, and Labor’s education revolution, is about providing better opportunities for all Australian children. It is about making sure that all Australian children are better prepared for the challenges of our future. Education and training play an important role in increasing the productive capacity of our economy. School attainment is positively linked to higher levels of employment and labour force participation. The effect of greater school attainment flows into consequently lower unemployment and higher productivity of those in work. This has the effect of allowing higher levels of economic growth without increasing inflationary pressures in our economy. It is a triple whammy: lower unemployment, higher productivity, and economic growth without inflation. That is the equation that the Howard government never got. It is the equation that the Turnbull opposition still do not get.

School attainment assists labour force entry and re-entry and has direct correlation with higher levels of productivity, which has the ongoing effect of providing higher wages. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2006 the unemployment rates for people aged 25 to 64 with no post-school qualifications were 2.9 and 1.3 percentage points higher than for those with post-school qualifications. For those people with a degree or higher, the difference in unemployment rates were even greater. Participation rates for those with post-school education have also been found to be consistently around 15 percentage points higher than for those with no post-school education. The statistics on educational attainment and the impacts on employment and productivity are absolutely clear, and they have been for a long time. By providing financial assistance to families to offset the costs of educating children, we will increase participation rates and increase the level of school attainment.

This legislation ensures families who get family tax benefit part A and who have one or more children undertaking primary or secondary school studies are still eligible for the education tax refund. Those parents with one or more children who would be an eligible child for the purposes of family tax benefit A but for the fact that their child receives certain payments and allowances will also be eligible for the education tax refund. These allowances include youth allowance, disability support pension and Abstudy living allowance. Students undertaking primary or secondary school studies and receiving an independent rate of income support payments may also be eligible for the education tax refund with respect to their own expenses. For families eligible for family tax benefit part A who have shared care arrangements or shared receipt of family tax benefit A, the education tax refund will be shared just as the family tax benefit A is shared between the parents. For those families in similar arrangements that are in receipt of other payments, a similar arrangement for sharing the education tax refund between eligible parents will occur.

In this modern age, the importance of access to the internet for students is paramount. The internet provides an endless resource for students accessing material. Through internet usage students develop improved all-round knowledge and IT skills which are fundamental to the modern workplace. It is significant that a part of this bill is the inclusion of rebates for home computers and associated accessories. This bill recognises the fundamental importance of home computers as an education tool. This bill, through these home computer subsidies, will again help to boost educational attainment across the board. It will also help to address one of the barriers to education for lower socioeconomic groups. Whilst there is obviously extremely widespread acceptance of home computers—and certainly the uptake of broadband in Australia has been enthusiastic, to say the least—it is often the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum that goes without this key study resource. In 2006 to 2007, 64 per cent of Australian households had home access and 73 per cent had access to a home computer.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics publication Household use of information technology, Australia, 2006-07 found that, overall, 61 per cent of people aged 15 years and over accessed the internet at home during 2006-07 financial year. Personal or private was stated as the most popular purpose for internet use at home, with 98 per cent of those using the internet at home doing so for this purpose, followed by education or study, which was 53 per cent of users. Whilst the proportion of Australian households with access to the internet is quite high, the Australian Bureau of Statistics points out that high-income earners and people with higher levels of educational attainment register relatively higher levels of broadband access. Ensuring better access to the internet and IT skills for every Australian is absolutely essential for Australia’s future and for bridging the educational opportunity gap.

The growth in the IT sector in providing employment is very marked. Federal and state Labor governments have been both supporting and driving this industry as part of our key regional development opportunities. In my seat of Corangamite there have been a number of federal and state government initiatives that have benefited local communities. Over the past nine years the Brumby government has facilitated the development and expansion of programs such as the Ballarat Technology Park precinct, which constituents in the northern part of my electorate have benefited from immensely. Recently the Labor state government relocated the Transport Accident Commission headquarters to Geelong. This will generate 850 jobs, providing a welcome boost to the local economy. Many of these are IT jobs. In April of this year Deakin University’s corporate education arm, DeakinPrime, announced a deal with giant Indian IT company Satyam to build a $75 million, 10-hectare complex at Geelong which will, in the future, employ 2,000 people.

Another new technology park is now being planned in the new city of Armstrong Creek sitting within my electorate between Geelong and Torquay. The future employees of initiatives such as the Ballarat Technology Park, the TAC in Geelong and DeakinPrime in Waurn Ponds are going to require the technology skills. That is what this legislation is all about.

This government is conducting broad education reform, providing assistance to families to increase the minimum levels of support available to our children. This legislation goes to the fundamentals of what the Australian Labor Party and the Labor governments are all about. We are the party of opportunity. We are the party that has always provided opportunity for all. We are also the party that thinks ahead for future generations. The conservatives have always been about the benefits for a few, the party of the survival of the fittest or, more accurately, the survival of the most privileged. I often wonder how the Leader of the Opposition could so easily walk away from the values of the communities he grew up in, the communities of his childhood.

This legislation is about providing opportunity, as I have said. It is good for our community. It is good for our environment and it is good for our economy as well. It provides better access to current IT resources. It will raise the breadth of skills for our future economy. It recognises and harnesses the educational role of computers in the home and the role they can play in the education of primary and secondary students. There is a specific provision for computer related expenses that can be claimed against the education tax refund covering purchase, lease, hire or hire purchase costs of laptops and home computers. This includes associated costs of printers and paper, educational software and school textbooks. In addition, the expenses associated with establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also eligible expenses.

This bill also provides for students to undertake vocational education and training programs which by their nature can sometimes be quite expensive. Prescribed trade tools are expenses that can be claimed under this legislation, which will assist students who wish to undertake vocational education and training programs. This is part of a coordinated effort by this government to increase the retention rates of students to year 12 or equivalent.

In summary, this bill will have a broad educational impact and effect. It recognises a range of things that are important in supporting and fostering educational participation and attainment. It fosters our community. It fosters our economy. Legislation for this measure needs to be in place by 30 June 2009 to allow for individuals to claim the education tax refund in their 2008-09 income tax returns from 1 July 2009. For those who are not required to complete an income tax return, a separate form will be available from the Australian Taxation Office to assist those families access these benefits. Individuals who do not pay tax will still benefit from this important reform. As the education tax refund is a refundable tax offset, any part of the offset that cannot be used to reduce an individual’s tax liability is paid out to the taxpayer. As potential recipients are required to begin keeping receipts for eligible expenses it would be preferable to have the legislation in place as soon as possible. This would enable the ATO to begin providing advice to potential recipients.

In conclusion, I would like to bring attention to the current instability in world markets and the importance of investing in productivity and growth. The most effective way of building productivity and growth is to invest in human capital. This bill is one of our important investments in human capital or, in simpler terms, this bill is about investing in people and investing in all Australians. In the May budget the Labor party included $4.4 billion to create the new education tax refund. This is a real education reform. It is a part of Labor’s education revolution and I commend this bill to the House.

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