Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

When it comes to the Labor Party, do not look at what they say, look what they do. The member for Dobell has 44 schools in her electorate, which miss out on an average of $7.1 million each under the coalition's program, so she must go to the people of Dobell and explain why they are better off. She asks me in particular about the Catholic system. The Catholic system will receive a 3.5 per cent increase over the next 10 years; and 98 per cent of Catholic students will see a growth of more than 3.3 per cent per year. The Catholic sector already has the highest Commonwealth student funding in every state and territory, now and into the future. So yes; we do consult with the Catholic sector and we do continue to support additional funding in this space—and it was Sir Robert Menzies who first decided to provide funding for the Catholic system.

The member for Scullin has to front up to the 46 schools in his electorate and tell them that on average they will be $7.6 million better off under Malcolm Turnbull's plan. The member for Scullin may barrack for a good football team, but he is barracking for the wrong political team! In the Northern Territory, students are already getting the highest funding from the Commonwealth—now at $6,445, and out to 2027, $7,369. The member for Griffith asked me about higher education.

Ms Butler interjecting—

I can tell the member for Griffith that $16 billion per year is being supported by the coalition: compare this to Labor's record between 2011 and 2013 where they cut $6 billion. Again, do not look at what Labor says, look at what Labor does. Through the good work of Senator Birmingham, we have ensured that we will continue to have a generous loans scheme, that we will not have up-front fees, and that taxpayers will still fund the majority of university fees.

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