Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the shadow Treasurer for today's MPI on education. I am looking forward to the opposition reshuffle when it comes; he is getting his credentials on education early! But I do think it is an indication that the shadow Treasurer has completely abandoned the economic argument that needs to underpin the national conversation we are having at the moment. Last year we had several MPIs on tax and on the economy. But the first MPI the shadow Treasurer has chosen to lead this year is completely outside of his portfolio.

There is a reason for that. If you think about the presentation of the shadow Treasurer calmly, there are a number of points you might want to note. The shadow Treasurer sets up a construct in terms of education funding in Australia that is completely a false dichotomy. He tries to make a case that this government will not fund education at all, and that his government—if they are ever elected to office—will somehow endlessly fund education in a way that they do not have to explain or make credible or sustainable. It is completely not the case. As the Prime Minister outlined in question time today, this government is investing record levels of funding in Australia. Anybody who has looked at the budget papers and this situation objectively would acknowledge that Commonwealth spending on education is at record levels. It is higher than ever before and is set to increase, year on year, over the forward estimates. It was spelt out many times in question time. So why would an opposition party suggest that somehow a government is cutting funding when funding is increasing? Why would they suggest there are chronic education shortfalls when there is actually a record level of spending?

It is because it is a hard business to tell the Australian people that the Commonwealth borrows money every single day to fund the ordinary expenditure of government. We do not have any money. We borrow money every single day to fund the ordinary expenditure of government. The Labor Party does not want to be honest with the Australian people and say that there are serious matters in education that need to be tackled. We did not hear one word cross the shadow Treasurer's lips about the serious issues that need tackling in education. We did not hear about teacher quality—not once. We did not hear about giving school principals autonomy to make decisions to improve educational outcomes. We did not hear about engaging parents in education, and we certainly did not hear anything about strengthening the curriculum.

What is the opposition's approach in relation to education? It is the same as their approach in every other area—spend, spend, spend. If I can paraphrase the shadow Treasurer, today he said, 'Let the spending flow. Let the money flow'. It is an ALP policy. It is a new idea in the year of ideas—let the money flow! What an election slogan—you could put that on a corflute! Here is Chris Bowen—and I can see it down in Blaxland now: 'Let the money flow. Double or nothing!' But where is it going to come from?

Mr Bowen interjecting—

Well, not Blaxland. I apologise. In McMahon, or wherever you are going to land after the New South Wales redistribution.

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