Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It does go without saying that good public policy is built on good information, as is stated in the motion before us. I am going to speak on the motion before us about the MySchool, MyHospitals and MyChild websites, unlike the previous speaker who seemed to go quite wildly into other areas. Good information is what helps governments set priorities and stay focused on the big issues. We also need accurate information to evaluate programs and make adjustments where the need arises.

For that reason, I was very surprised, when we came into government back in 2007, to find out just how little information we actually had about things of great importance. We did not, for example, have consistent data on schools and, when we sought to introduce a program that targeted disadvantaged schools, we could not even get together an accurate list from the information that was available around the country. We did not have comprehensive data on literacy and numeracy, we did not know how children's literacy and numeracy skills were going over time, we did not have the data to enable us to identify and learn about which schools were performing well, we could not tell which schools were struggling or why and we did not have comparative school financial data. In fact there was very little information in the government domain that would inform a policy aimed at improving the quality of education across the country and making sure that good quality education was available for all.

We also did not have comprehensive data based on the health and wellbeing and development of our very young children, our nought to fives. This is a very important part of a child's life; it sets them up for the rest of their life. We could not work on prevention and early intervention in mental health where it was most needed because we simply did not know where it was most needed. That data was not there.

Parents did not have access to information about early childhood services. I remember talking to one of the peak bodies for childcare providers, based in my electorate, and they said that they also did not have data on where the populations were changing, where the childcare centres were and what services were needed then and would be needed in the future; nor did the government of the day. That was an extraordinary thing to learn in a world where information is king—that in 2007 the Australian government did not actually have the information it needed to make serious policy in these areas.

We did not have information on average waiting times in our hospitals nor could the general public easily find out which hospitals specialised in what. Now, I am pleased to say, in many of those areas the information is actually collected and available and is being improved year by year. In some areas, we are beginning new programs—the Australian Early Development Index is a particularly important policy at the moment and I will spend a moment talking about that fantastic initiative, which also highlights the importance we place on information. The Australian Early Development Index measures a young child's development. It is like a checklist that measures five key areas of early childhood development—physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skill, communication skills and general knowledge. We are now the first country in the world to have collected comprehensive and population based data on the health, wellbeing and development of our five-year-olds. In this year's budget, the Gillard government is committing an additional $29.7 million over five years to the Australian Early Development Index. We will now be collecting data on an ongoing basis every three years. It is a vital tool to help ensure that governments and communities continue to maximise our children's life potential. In this area, like so many others—particularly areas like education, health and early childhood wellbeing—having the information we need to plan services and focus our efforts in the right places is absolutely essential, as it is essential to evaluate current programs and determine where improvements are needed.

I would also like to talk briefly about how some of this information has been used. Arthur Phillip High School, one of the schools in my electorate, is one of the beneficiaries of the new school partnerships which place additional funds and support in schools with the highest need. Again I point out that when we came to government in 2007 it would not have been possible to identify that school among the many others that were in need of additional help, and I commend the government for the work it has done in making that information available to policymakers and the public at large.

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