Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I just finished saying that our teachers are very good. They are lacking resources. They are sometimes lacking help. They have to provide everything, from a good education to paying for the resources on their own, to being a counsellor, a father or mother figure—there are so many kids going to school without a breakfast. The demand on schools is very high. If there is anything we can do to help those kids and those teachers to better prepare our students for a challenging world then we ought to be looking at it very seriously.

I commend Mr Piccoli for detailing the Gonski reforms. I know he feels as though he has got a deal that was too good to refuse. At this stage, only two jurisdictions have signed up to it, but it will be interesting in the weeks and months ahead to see how many more sign up to the deal.

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