House debates Questions without Notice
Schools: Funding
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
3:00 pm
My question is to the Minister for Education. Will the minister inform the House why Eatons Hill State School in my electorate was advised by Education Queensland that the school would not be eligible for federal funding under Australian government guidelines, having already received a state government grant for over $150,000? Minister, why did the government reverse its decision and approve the funding four hours after the member for Petrie visited the school with the state Labor candidate for Everton?
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The House will come to order. The question has been asked.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
I do genuinely thank the member for his question. Can I explain to the member that there are schools in every electorate in this country. Some of them have good members of parliament, who came into this chamber and voted for the single biggest school modernisation project in Australian history. Some of them did what he did and voted against it.
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. There was political interference against the government guidelines.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The member for Dickson will resume his seat. There is no point of order. The Deputy Prime Minister is responding to the question.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
On the question of good members of parliament, who support school modernisation and who supported the single biggest infrastructure investment in schools in this nation’s history: we are obviously rolling out that program and rolling it out quickly. Consequently, a lot of information is going to schools.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question could not have been more specific. It was about a specific school, a specific grant and a specific act of political interference—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
Obviously, this is a huge program, a $14 billion program, voted against by the opposition. It is being rolled out quickly across the country. When it is being rolled out quickly across the country, there are obviously times where there are information gaps and problems at local schools.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
What good members of parliament—as opposed to the incompetents yelling at me—do—
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Dutton interjecting
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
is go and sort those problems out.
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Dutton interjecting
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The member for Dickson will resume his seat. Has the Deputy Prime Minister concluded?
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
The member for Petrie is a good member of parliament.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training
Mr Pyne interjecting
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
Indeed, she is such a good member of parliament she not only sorts out problems with schools in her electorate but out of the goodness of her heart goes and sorts out problems with schools in the electorates of the incompetents opposite.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training
Mr Pyne interjecting
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
I would have thought that the member for Dickson would have sent a thankyou note to the member for Petrie for getting this problem resolved for one of his local schools.
Peter Dutton Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Dutton interjecting
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The member for Dickson! The member for Dickson will leave the chamber for one hour.
The member for Dickson then left the chamber.
The Deputy Prime Minister will wrap up her answer.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister
The member for Petrie sorted out an issue. Obviously, people would not have turned to the member for Dickson to do it because he is opposed to the whole program. At this point we should have the Hansard record that the member for Dickson is probably the only member ever to come into this parliament, in all of its history, to try and stop one of his schools getting funding and to complain when a problem has been sorted out for his school. Can I say to every member of the parliament: this program is being rolled out for every school in this country. The guidelines are publicly available. Yes, there will be times when schools want advice, want assistance, want someone to come and give them a helping hand. Members on this side of the House are always prepared to do that. Those over there, if they were truthful, would walk into the school and say: ‘I am opposed to you getting this money. Goodbye.’