Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday I met with Ray Collins, the superintendent of Catholic Education in the Hunter. He talked to me about the impact the Gonski reforms have had in Catholic education. He also spent quite a considerable amount of time talking about the Building the Education Revolution and what it had meant to Catholic education. He told me how it had transformed many of the schools in the Hunter, and how the most disadvantaged schools—schools that had the poorest infrastructure—were actually transformed and how their buildings had been brought into the 21st century. He talked to me about how prior to the Building the Education Revolution and prior to the Labor government investing money in school infrastructure, these schools were struggling to provide adequate accommodation for their students. Now they have state-of-the-art accommodation, and the students are enjoying this new learning environment. Environment is very important when it comes to learning, because if you do not have the right type of environment, then it actually impacts on a child's ability to learn. He passed on a big thank you to Labor for looking after Catholic schools and looking after all schools during the time that we were in government and providing adequate funding for Building the Education Revolution.

He also spoke to me about the transformation that has taken place in Catholic schools under the Gonski reforms. He told me about how those students that needed extra assistance have been able to be supported through the Gonski reforms. He told me that it particularly benefited Aboriginal students in the area, and he implored me to make sure that that funding continued. Catholic education has always had a priority of providing for children with disabilities, and he emphasised the importance of that. What I want to conclude by saying to the government members in this House is to get on board—listen to the schools in your electorate and fund Gonski fully.