Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, I was commenting on the delivery of programs, about which I was asked, and proper processes. As the shadow minister for education during the Rudd government, I saw firsthand how the school hall program was rolled out by the then minister, Julia Gillard. It was a $16 billion program whereby school halls were built next door to other school halls, whereby school halls in country towns were built next to town halls that had been used for over 100 years for school assemblies—money pushed out the door.

To respond specifically to the question from the member for Sydney, the North East Vocational College received exactly the same grant as the four other colleges in the pilot program—exactly the same grant. The minister, Senator Birmingham, did exactly what was required of him in his responsibilities. The department fulfilled its responsibilities. Therefore, the premise of the member's question is false.

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