David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I may be new but do you know what? I still learnt to add up when I was out in the real world where I had a job. I employed people and I made a contribution to this country and to the tax income of this country that actually pays for the education in this country, not been part of a union system that actually denigrates business that actually generates the income that goes into our education system.

More frightening are the lies coming from a desperate opposition. We saw it in the election campaign around 'Mediscare'. We now see the desperation to become the next government extends to education. Labor are simply hiding behind a $30 billion cut that they never had the funding for anyway—it was all on the never-never; it was all on the credit card. It was never actually planned for anyway, as you would expect from the Labor Party. Their idea is to simply put money on the table, walk away, dust their hands and say: 'That is how we are going to fix it.' Unfortunately, that is not how you fix education. That is not how you fix health. That is not how you fix the problems of this country. It is about outcomes; it is not just throwing money blindly at problems. It is actually making sure that you target it in a proper and systemic way to ensure that we get the outcomes that we are looking for.

What an emotive speech we got from the member for Sydney—nearly tears. But the reality is those opposite do not pay the bills and they do not make sure that we get the outcomes. It is quite easy to sit there and have an emotive response to all this and think that we are going to change it but, in reality, the member for Sydney will not change a damn thing because she cannot add up. The reality is: if member for Sydney wants to talk about education then she should also be talking, particularly in my state of Queensland, to her friends in the state Labor Party, who are contributing next to nix to the state education system. In fact, we on this side are putting 6.8 per cent year-on-year increase into the Queensland education system but Annastacia Palaszczuk is only able to put in 1.8 per cent yet Labor are there to contribute the most into education. Labor are in charge of education in that state. Right across the country, we are seeing in the figures that our state governments, mostly Labor, put their hands out—do not worry about it; we will just put on the credit card, put it on the federal government because they will have the money. This is where we have to be smart about what we are doing. This is also about making sure that those outcomes are targeted.

I am proud to be part of a coalition government that is undertaking a review into regional and remote education that will look at the outcomes that we want to achieve for those living in remote areas from grade 1 right through so that those kids that live in my electorate are able to undertake an education, have the opportunities—no matter their postcode—and come back and contribute to Maranoa.

Only last week I sat with a young doctor who grew up in Charleville. He went away, got his medicine degree and has come back under our new medical pathways program to be a specialist in St George. Those are the success stories if we do the right things with education. We target our education. We do not spend blindly and put money out the window and just hope that it will happen. Throwing money at a problem does not always work. Outcomes are the solution.

I only have to look at what is happening in my electorate of Maranoa. Longreach State High School is a little high school in the outback. This year 62.5 per cent of the year 12 students had an OP of 1 to 5, not because we threw money at it, not because we thought let's throw millions of dollars at Longreach State High School but because of the passion and the dedication of those educators out there, who were able to use what they had to get the outcomes they were looking for. Throwing more money does not always work, and the proof is in the pudding.

You know what? We come in here and we see the emotive speeches of the member for Sydney and we are all nearly in tears with her. But the reality is: unless you stop the lies, unless we make this a bipartisan approach about outcomes—not throwing a blind amount of money—we are all kidding ourselves and we will not take the next generation with us and get them the best outcomes that they deserve. My children, her children, all our children are our responsibility when we step into this place, not to play blind politics and not put baseless lies out in the electorate that concern parents. We have that responsibility. (Time expired)

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