Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Would the Deputy Prime Minister please update the House on the reaction to the government’s $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution package?

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

I thank the member for her question; I know how interested she is in the circumstances of schools in her electorate. We have had reaction to the announcement yesterday from all of those who are in touch with the needs of Australian schools—those who work in schools, those whose children go to school and those who represent schools in the public debate. Those in touch with the needs of Australian schools have, of course, welcomed the government’s historic Building the Education Revolution package and its historic $14.7 billion investment in primary schools, special schools, schools that service primary and secondary students together, K to 12 schools and secondary schools. To give you just a flavour of the responses, Mr Bill Daniels, who represents the Independent Schools Council of Australia, welcomes this substantial investment in capital infrastructure and said that it ‘will greatly benefit independent school communities across Australia’. The President of the Australian Primary Principals Association, Leonie Trimper, said:

Today’s announcement is fantastic news for Australia’s 7,500 primary schools … This is a fantastic win-win for all Australians … it is also a lasting investment in Australia’s future—our primary school students.

I could, of course, go on to a host of other supportive comments, but perhaps the sentiment was best caught by Mr Bill Bird, the Principal of Kingsgrove Public School, who was quoted in today’s Australian. He described the package as ‘brilliant’ and said that he looked forward to replacing the demountable library, which has been there since the original building burnt down several years ago. He said:

It will give them a new sense of permanence and purpose … That is extremely important. Not only that, it will result in an environment that is actually conducive to learning.

These are the voices of people who are in touch with the needs of schools.

Then, unfortunately, we have also heard the voices of those who are completely out of touch with the needs of schools. First and foremost is the Leader of the Opposition, who in his contribution earlier today rhetorically asked, ‘Is the most urgent infrastructure deficiency requirement in Australian primary schools assembly halls and libraries?’ Well, I suggest that he walk into any school in this country and talk to the principal, talk to the teachers and talk to the parents in that school and ask them what they think is important to the future of this nation. What they will say is important to the future of this nation is having a 21st century education system that invests in primary school students. The Leader of the Opposition wants to play some funny game about priorities. Well, the government are very proud to say that we think this nation’s priority is its children. We think that this nation’s highest priority is the next generation of Australians—our highest priority for economic prosperity, our highest priority for equity. We will unashamedly say that in every school in this country. Presumably, members of the Liberal Party will be walking into those schools saying, ‘Kids aren’t a priority,’ because that is what the Leader of the Opposition believes.

The Leader of the Opposition was not the only Liberal voice putting this position. We had the member for Higgins describing this $14.7 billion investment in Australian schools as a ‘poor quality spend’. The only poor quality in relation to this announcement is the completely out of touch reaction of the Leader of the Opposition and his Liberal Party. They do not understand the importance of schools to Australia’s future, they do not understand the importance of a first-class education for Australian school students to this nation’s future and they are completely out of touch with principals, with teachers, with parents and with all those Australians who care about our future and who, most particularly, care about the education of Australia’s kids.