Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy. Minister, why is investing in the education of our young people important for Australia's competitiveness in the Asian century, and what are the obstacles to this?

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for her question. The member for La Trobe is a great example of a Labor MP advocating for high-quality education for the children in her electorate—and why wouldn't we on this side of the parliament? Here we are in the Asian region in the Asian century looking to the sources of competitiveness that will secure for our young people the splendid array of diversity and career opportunities. Do you know, Speaker, that, in the Asian century, four of the five top schooling systems are in our own region? That is our competition in the Asian region.

When you look at the sources of competitiveness in the Asian century, the preeminent source of competitiveness is investing in the talents of our young people, developing the skills and nurturing the creativity of our young people. That is what the National Plan for School Improvement does, and our aspiration is to be in the top five schooling systems under the blueprint by 2025. But the obstacles are there in numbers on the other side of the parliament. On the other side of the parliament sits a man who strains every sinew in his body every day trying to work out new ways of pressuring state premiers not to sign up to the National Plan for School Improvement. This is the man who puts his personal ambition ahead of the ambitions and aspirations of 3½ million Australian schoolchildren. As he turns his back, he is saying that his ambitions are more important than the aspirations of 3½ million schoolchildren.

We stand on the threshold of great Labor reforms in the great Labor reforming tradition. Universal health care through Medicare, universal retirement incomes through compulsory superannuation and universal high-quality education through the National Plan for School Improvement. Every one of those are great Labor reforms. What else do they have in common, apart from the fact that they are great Labor reforms? Every one of them has been vehemently opposed by the coalition—Medicare, superannuation and the National Plan for School Improvement. In relation to Medicare, we prevailed. You had, on the other side, a surrender. They said Medicare must stay. They opposed compulsory superannuation every time, but we prevailed. And on the National Plan for School Improvement, Labor will prevail. We will defeat you; we will see you off because it is a great Labor reform in the Labor reforming tradition. (Time expired)