Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Exactly four months ago the Prime Minister said, 'We will make sure that no school is worse off.' What guarantee can the Prime Minister give under his latest scheme that schools will not be worse off as a result of actions by the Commonwealth government or state governments?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He obviously had what he thought was a fantastic question-time strategy and he is incapable of adjusting it in the light of the facts as they stand.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on a point of order: the standing orders are clear that the Prime Minister should not debate the question, which is exactly what the Prime Minister is doing.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would remind the Manager of Opposition Business that the debate provisions provide two questions.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The only people who have cut funding from education in this House are the members opposite. In last year's MYEFO—

Mr Shorten interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The honourable Leader of the Opposition will withdraw that remark.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In last year's MYEFO they cut $3.8 billion out of education and in this year's PEFO—

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would the trio of voices, members for Parramatta, Jagajaga and Isaacs, please desist.

An opposition member interjecting—

As a matter of opinion.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members opposite cut $3.8 billion out of education in last year's MYEFO; they cut $1.6 billion out of public hospitals in last year's MYEFO and in the PEFO that we got before the election, no one—

Opposition members interjecting—

The Leader of the Opposition himself signed off on a $1.2 billion cut in school funding.

Opposition members interjecting—

I hear members opposite bellowing and carrying on. We had the shadow Treasurer and we had the member for Adelaide admit in the media, over the last couple of days, that that is exactly what the Leader of the Opposition did. He ripped $1.2 billion off the vulnerable school students and schools of Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. We are putting it back. We are not just keeping our commitments, we are more than keeping our commitments.