Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

It was Teachers Day a couple of weeks ago. We thank teachers, as we do every year, for educating the next generation. But this year thanking teachers had a bit of extra oomph. Teachers have been so much more than educators this year. They were the constant, steady voice calming the fears of students and parents when they were suddenly shaken from their school routines. They were the experts in online learning, even if it was something they had had done before. And they've been front-line workers in the fight against COVID-19 and the risks associated with it.

Teachers and other school staff have done a remarkable job in stitching together the 2020 school year while it frayed at the seams. I do acknowledge the minister at the table when he was speaking, before he was gagged by himself. He did actually refer to teachers, and I second his comments about teachers.

It's been a year like no other, and we don't yet know what the fallout will be for students and how long that legacy will linger. We do know that during the initial stages of the pandemic the Morrison government wilfully ignored health advice and all but tried to bribe schools for purely political purposes. Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the Morrison government's $3 billion COVID relief for private schools that reopened to their students was actually rejected by the majority of schools. Only seven per cent of the Catholic system schools and 49 per cent of the independent sector took up the offer, even with the $10 million for soap and hand sanitiser for private schools contained in the special circumstances fund.

Only one-third of the $3 billion funding announced was actually spent. It's not surprising as schools were being asked to reopen to their students in the midst of a pandemic. Schools were required to have 50 per cent of students back in their classrooms by the end of June and were given only a matter of days to decide whether to accept the relief funding. For some schools, reopening to students was contrary to their state health advice—for example, that provided by experienced chief medical officers like the magnificent Dr Jeannette Young in Queensland. This was yet another Morrison government announcement that faltered when it came to the follow-up. The Morrison government is always there for the photo but not for the follow-up.

The recent budget included a $25 million student support package—$25 million over five years to establish a fund to enable the government to respond flexibly and quickly to emerging priorities and educational challenges presented by COVID-19. That's the only detail contained in the budget. In Senate estimate, we found out that this $25 million fund is for a grant program, but so far there are no funding guidelines at all. The government doesn't know how it will spend $25 million, and we have no idea what this money will be spent on, who will benefit, who will be eligible and how it will be targeted. Will it be another sports rorts but for education?

I'm particularly concerned that some students will find it very difficult to catch up after such a disruptive year. The department said in Senate estimates that they had commissioned some early research on potential implications for extended periods of home based learning, and they advised that the research clearly indicated that there were likely impacts that would be felt. As a former teacher and from my own family's experience of home schooling a primary school boy and a high school boy, I can easily see how the home-schooling experience would not have been ideal for all students—good for a few, I do stress, but with a sting in the tail for most. Students who are disadvantaged through their social, economic or health situation had an especially difficult time during home schooling, with many students now struggling to catch up with their classmates. We can't leave these children behind. The consequences may be devastating for these students.

So I ask the minister: when will the $25 million grant fund be expended, and who will be eligible? Will all schools be eligible for these grants or will only private schools be eligible? How will the government help students who have been left behind through COVID-19 home schooling? And how much of the $10 million special circumstances fund for soap, hand sanitiser and cleaning for private schools has been expended? Please provide a list of the schools that assessed this fund.

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