Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the heart of the Rudd government is our plan for an education revolution. This morning I had the opportunity to catch up with the Prime Minister in his office to talk about the budget and how it was going down in Leichhardt in tropical North Queensland. The first thing he asked me was how the education components of the budget were being met by families and schools in tropical North Queensland—in Cairns, Cape York and the Torres Strait. I have been getting around to my local schools and I was glad to be able to report that the education tax refund, the trades training centre plans, our plans for a digital revolution providing computers to high school students in years 9 to 12 and our plans to connect every school to high-speed broadband are all positive plans that have been very well received by families, teachers and school communities in general.

It is a credit to the Prime Minister that at the heart of what we are doing as a government is education, because there is nothing more important as a member of parliament than to be able to provide every child—no matter what their social, cultural or financial background—with the opportunity to reach their potential. Part of the reason I got into politics and one of the reasons that I will continue to strive as a member of parliament is to make sure that we can provide children with the opportunity to reach their potential in life. We put forward an agenda that goes from early childhood education through to primary school, high school, vocational education and university to ensure that we are providing a pathway for students to reach their potential.

This evening, I had the opportunity to participate in the policy forum dinner organised by the Christian schools. I was the guest of Peace Lutheran College principal, Mr Rob Fysh. It was great to sit down with Rob and talk about some of the positive work that his school is doing with Indigenous children. They have got about 90 boarders at Peace Lutheran College in Cairns and about half of those are Indigenous students. Some students are coming down from Hopevale, which has a strong tradition as a Lutheran mission and is connected to the Peace Lutheran School. The school is providing them with opportunities to grow and to reach their potential. I take my hat off to principals like Mr Rob Fysh.

Coming back to the Prime Minister, one of the first things he asked us to do when we became members of parliament was to visit schools. I have been continuing to visit schools in my electorate since then. I have got a broad electorate that includes Cairns, Cape York and Torres Strait. There are more than 70 schools in my electorate, according to the website of the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts. When getting around those schools you meet some great characters and see some great activities and events being run by them.

Up in Torres Strait, the head of the Tagai State College, Mr Don Anderson, is providing great leadership to that community. Over the last few years Don has drawn together a range of schools on individual islands across Torres Strait into a single campus, the Tagai State College. He is providing huge leadership to that school and we are seeing improvements in education and in attendance at the school. There is a real connection happening between those schools and their communities as a result of the leadership provided by Don and his team. I take my hat off to them.

I have had the opportunity to go up to Cape York and visit Aurukun, Western Cape College in Weipa and Kowanyama State School, where I met and talked with principals and students. They are doing a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.

Catholic Education, the independents and the state schools in Cairns are all doing a great job working with students and families to ensure that children have opportunities to reach their potential. But they need a government that is going to put education at the centre of what we do. That is what the Rudd government is about. We are making sure that education is at the centre of the government’s plans for the future and we will continue to invest in it.

I have already talked about some of our commitments from the election. The other thing that came out in the budget was the Education Investment Fund—a fund that will provide $11 billion to build for the future and enable us to continue our work in implementing our education revolution. We are supporting students, parents and teachers in creating a first-class education environment.