Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Will the Deputy Prime Minister rule out parents having to pay new levies or higher school fees to help fund the installation and operational costs of the government’s promise to put a computer on the desk of every upper secondary school student?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to get a question from the shadow minister—absolutely delighted—and I certainly will be answering it. Can I say when it comes to the reaction of the Catholic and independent schools sector to the government’s recent announcement of computers in schools, rather than rely on the shadow minister I would prefer to rely on Bill Daniels, the Executive Director of the Independent Schools Council of Australia, and Monsignor Tom Doyle of the National Catholic Education Commission, who have both welcomed this new investment. This new investment was made into schools that applied and were invited to apply because they had a student-to-computer ratio of one to eight or worse—the legacy of the Liberal Party to Australian students in those schools.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the question was about whether parents will have to pay new levies or higher school fees as a result of this initiative.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The question is to do with the program of instituting computers to upper secondary schools. Over many, many years, despite those who asked the questions believing that they require yes/no answers or the like, that has not been the way in which the relevance test has been used in this place. The Deputy Prime Minister will respond to the question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Can I answer the honourable member’s question this way. Before the election of the Rudd Labor government, independent and Catholic schools were funding the introduction of computers wholly and solely through fees and fundraising. What are they doing now? They have a government that has a National Secondary School Computer Fund of $1.2 billion that is working with them. There was no dedicated fund for computers in schools prior to this government. Prior to this government, schools were left to their own devices. There was no dedicated focus, no care or concern from members opposite about computers in schools—absolutely nothing of substance happening. Here is a government that has come along and is prepared to work in partnership with schools with a $1.2 billion investment. What I can certainly say to members opposite is we understand that schools want assistance from government to get computers into schools. We are providing it and there is no-one on this side of the parliament that is so out of touch that they would utter a statement like that uttered by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She said:

… I’m yet to see a school that is not well served with computers.

There is no-one over here that out of touch. We understand schools want assistance, and we are providing it.