Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today, sadly, to talk about one of the greatest betrayals the Prime Minister and Liberal Party labelled against the Australian public before the last election—that is, their ferocious untruth about education that, no matter who you vote for, 'you will get exactly the same amount of funding for your school'. That was a blatant untruth. It is an untruth represented by a $30 billion cut to education funding to this nation. It is a betrayal, a cut, that means that schools in my electorate of Charlton will be $163 million worse off; a betrayal, an untruth, that means that schools in the Hunter will be $900 million worse off; a betrayal, an untruth, that Premier Mike Baird said was a kick in the guts to New South Wales, and he is right. It is a kick in the guts to every student and to every family in New South Wales who wants the best possible start for their kids. And it is something that those on the other side proudly stand for: a $30 billion cut to education.

But, on this side, the Labor Party are the party of education and we are proudly fighting these cuts. We are proudly fighting to return that $163 million of funding to Charlton schools, the $900 million of funding to Hunter schools and the $30 billion of funding to Australian schools because we know the beauty of education—how it empowers people and gives them the best start in life. Those on the other side stand for untruths and betrayal, saying anything and doing anything to get into power and then cutting loose, and cutting, cutting and cutting.