House debates

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Statements by Members

Education Funding

1:58 pm

Photo of Gary GrayGary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | | Hansard source

I am glad the Prime Minister has arrived because I can inform the Prime Minister of the massively damaging impact of the government's cuts to schools and hospitals in Rockingham and Kwinana. The Rockingham hospital is a place that has been, over the course of the last 30 years' continual investment in by Commonwealth and state governments, a piece of community infrastructure that is extremely important to the health needs of constituents in Rockingham and Kwinana.

We see the impact of government cuts to services, not just in our hospitals but also in our schools. In our primary schools and in our high schools we see the heartless, thoughtless impact of cuts from this government that have now moved into their third year. They are cuts which affect students at primary school level and which affect the career prospects and high school prospects of students in years 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

In Rockingham, the impact of this has been so profound that we have continually had to advise teachers and students that the day will come when the responsibility of our Commonwealth government to lift the burden from families to provide good education, outstanding teachers, support in our schools and also the right support for our communities will come. That will come in the form of a Labor government. That will come in the form of the education plans that we have outlined and fully funded. It will come with the election of a Shorten Labor government.