Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I would rather deal with them as they come out of respect for the speakers, if that is acceptable. I wish to address probably three issues from the deputy opposition leader and spokesperson in this space. Firstly, in relation to schools funding, overall I think the starting point is that there is a very significant, continued path to growth outlined in this budget in relation to schools funding. Let me make that clear because sometimes it can be lost in the hurly-burly of debate. Each year, we see an increase of approximately $1 billion from 2014 through to 2020. That represents a 29 per cent increase from 2014 to 2020 in real terms. In real terms, there is a 29.8 per cent increase.

For the record, I think it is worthwhile to understand that we went from, in 2014, $13.8 billion of funding to, in 2015, $15 billion of funding; 2016, $16.1 billion; 2017, $17.4 billion of appropriation; 2018, $18.2 billion; 2019, $19.1 billion; and 2020, $20.1 billion. So the fundamental point here is that schools funding increases each year, every year. But, when you bring it altogether, what you see is an increase of 29.8 per cent, not just in nominal terms but in real terms. So in real terms you see a significant increase in the capacity of schools to provide for the needs of students.

One of the fundamental mistakes here is the cargo cult mentality, and that is the notion that funding alone equals better outcomes. What we see when we go to the Quality schools, quality outcomes report is that it is much more than just funding; it is about the combination of the very things which I set out at the beginning and which the Minister for Education and Training and the Prime Minister have talked about in this space throughout the course of the current administration, and that is: literacy, numeracy, standards and teacher training, things which are fundamental to allowing students the ability to achieve and to lay down a foundation stone for their entire educational career. Those are extremely important points, but, going back to the start, it is about increasing each year, every year, the funding but then adding the quality—the whole notion of quality schools, quality outcomes.

Then I want to deal with something which was also raised, which is in relation to funding for students with disability. I think it is extremely valuable for the House to understand that the government is providing more than $5 billion in recurrent funding for students with disability over the period from 2014 to 2017, through a loading. This includes over $1.3 billion in 2016, which increases by $200 million to almost $1.5 billion in 2017. So we see a significant increase in funding which allows for more opportunity for those who are most in need—and I agree with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that these are the people who are most in need. We all work with schools within our electorates and parents. In my case I was fortunate to be able to work with the Insight school for those with vision impairment, a school which did not exist but, through extraordinary parents who were incredibly committed, we were able to work and to create that sort of opportunity.

I would note that in the 2016 budget the government announced an additional $118 million for schools to support students with disability for the 2016 and 2017 calendar years. These funds will be allocated and informed by the new Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability and will target those schools with the greatest need. I think that that is an extremely important outcome.

Thirdly, I just want to mention—and I will cover this in greater detail later—in relation to higher education that the fundamental point is that funding goes up from $16.6 billion in the financial year just completed to $16.9 billion, then to $17.4 billion in 2017-18; $17.6 billion in 2018-19; and $18.1 billion in 2019-20. So, whether it is schools or higher education, it is about a sustainable upwards trajectory and a focus above all else on quality.

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