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

My question is to the Prime Minister. The executive director of Catholic Education Melbourne, Mr Stephen Elder, has said that the Prime Minister continues to show 'disrespect for a sector that educates one in four students in this country'. Why are the Prime Minister and every member of his government persisting with a Catholic schools policy that the Catholic education community do not want? And why is the Prime Minister making it harder for parents to choose to send their children to Catholic schools by following a policy— (Time expired)

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every contention made by the Leader of the Opposition in that question is false. The simple fact is that funding for Catholics schools is increasing in Victoria at 3½ per cent per annum, and it is a commitment to providing more funding, needs based, consistently and transparently, to the Catholic sector, as indeed it is on the same basis of needs to the public sector and, of course, to the independent schools.

To be very clear about this: the Leader of the Opposition can do his best if he wants to try and play sectarian games in the House. We will not have a bar of it. I want to be very, very clear about this. Every dollar that goes to the Catholic systems goes in a block form for each state, and then it is allocated. The total sum is built up by a series of school-by-school allocations based on need and based on the SES methodology that has been used for years by governments, both coalition and Labor. It is consistent, needs based funding, but an increased sum—a substantially increased sum—goes to each Catholic system. The system in Victoria that he is speaking about is a very good example. They get a substantial increase in funding and they are then able to distribute it and use it among their schools as they see fit. It is entirely up to them. We are transparent about how the funding is determined. The Catholic system is then able to allocate it as they see fit and, presumably, explain it or justify it to their parents and their communities. That is the fact, and the contentions of fact the honourable member put to me in his question are just false.

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

I seek leave to table the document which quotes Mr Elder saying 'the continuing disrespect for the system that educates one in four students in the country'.

Leave not granted.