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

It is always helpful to get a contribution from the future of the Liberal Party, the member for Mackellar. We wait for her to make a re-emergence much closer to the front. It is inevitable over time. My point is simply this: if we look at the track record on education of the Howard government, we are invited day after day to do less by the opposition. Well, we will not be doing less because we do not want this nation to be at the back of the OECD for investment in early education. We do not want this nation to have slipping education standards. We do not want this nation to have disadvantaged children left behind. We do not want this nation to have children in substandard facilities. We do not want this nation to lack a 21st century vocational education and training system able to meet the needs of the modern economy, particularly during the days of the global recession. We do not want this nation to lack a 21st century university system which is ready for a decade of reform so a greater number of Australians can get the benefit of a university education, particularly Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds.

I know every member of the Liberal Party might find those things offensive, but it is what drives us each and every day and we will continue to deliver it.

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