Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm correctly advised that he did also say that he was going to do that as Prime Minister, although, to use that former Prime Minister's own words, he was rudely interrupted. My concern is that this is the same gentleman who said that living in Aboriginal communities was a 'lifestyle choice' not worthy of taxpayer funding. This is deeply concerning. As has been pointed out in this place already, we have had three education ministers and three prime ministers—all contributing to this general sense of complete chaos.

When it comes to Indigenous education, there are some bright spots. I'm pleased that Labor has taken the lead here. It's worth remembering, as people have reminded us, that it was Labor who set the principle of a student resource standard. It was an initiative researched by David Gonski and implemented by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to fund schools and students according to need. One of those was to place Indigenous students as a key funding driver. This is how we deliver on our aspiration for Indigenous Australians.

Today, I attended the launch of Labor's First Nations Women's Policy Forum report. This forum is helping to amplify the voice of First Nations women to the Labor Party and to the Parliament of Australia. I want to commend the work that Senator Sue Lines, the Deputy President of the Senate, has done in this space. It will not surprise anyone that one of the most important things those women raised was the need for certainty of funding for their schools to help kids achieve all that they can. I'm going to support them 100 per cent of the way.

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