House debates

Monday, 25 June 2018

Private Members' Business

International Olympiads for Science, Maths and Technology

12:53 pm

Photo of Chris CrewtherChris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) congratulates the six teams comprising Australia’s brightest high school students chosen to compete in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology;

(2) recognises the work and effort these students put in to win the coveted spots in the team;

(3) notes that the Australian government has committed a total of $4.1 million over four years to help our best and brightest compete globally; and

(4) looks forward to hearing about the performance of the teams following the olympiad.

I'm extremely proud to be moving this motion today, to congratulate and acknowledge the hard work of the students who will soon be travelling overseas to represent Australia in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology. We have lots of very talented people right across all generations, but, as the youngest member of the House of Representatives, making exciting opportunities and new horizons available and accessible for our youngest generations, not only in Dunkley but across the nation, is something close to my heart.

We live in a changing world where ensuring that our students keep pace with educational opportunities and successes internationally become more important with every year. I'm very proud of our young students who have reached these incredibly high stages of their studies, and I know they're proud to represent Australia.

I would like my colleagues to join me in congratulating the following students. The following students are representing Australia in biology: Sai Campbell, Shanni Chen, Luke Hemmingsen and Jessica Law. The following students are representing Australia in chemistry: Kieran Connor, Richard Huang, Raymond Li, Phillip Liang. The following students are representing Australia in earth science: Rebecca Whittle, Wayne Wong, Rose Zhang and Kim Zheng. The following students are representing Australia in informatics: Jerry Mao, Angus Ritossa, Albert Smith and Jacob Smith. The following students are representing Australia in mathematics: William Hu, Charles Li, William Steinberg, Ethan Tan, Hayden Tang and Guowen Zhang. The following students are representing Australia in physics: Stephen Catsamas, Boris Deletic, Alicia Lieng, Hugo McCahon-Boersma and Vladimir Mikho.

It's great to see such a solid Victorian contingent in that list. I know they will do us in Victoria proud, and they will do the rest of Australia proud too. These six teams representing excellence in these different fields are travelling to all different locations across the world, which will be a wonderful experience for any young student.

While I note that this year there wasn't a representative from my electorate of Dunkley, I have been very proud to support other students from my own electorate representing Australia internationally. Only last Friday I gave an ambassador pack to Olivia Robinson, who was travelling to Japan in July for the 30th Asian-Pacific Children's Convention. I congratulate Olivia on her wonderful success in being selected as one of only a few students across Australia to go to this convention.

Going back to the topic at hand, we have lots of young people who are competing on the international stage. Australia brought home gold from the International Olympiad in Informatics last year. That's why the Australian government has committed a total of $4.1 million over four years to help our best and brightest compete in international competitions like this. Minster Cash and Minister Seselja recently met with the Australian delegation, where they received their team blazers. I think this is fantastic because it shows the absolute support and commitment to competitions like this. Just as we support people travelling overseas for major sporting competitions and the like, it is important that we promote participation in intellectual Olympic Games, and these students, soon heading off, will do us proud.

These spots are extremely competitive to achieve, and the international competition is sure to exceed what these students have faced before, but just making it to the competition shows their dedication and hard work. This battle of the minds is sure to be incredibly exciting, and I look forward to hearing about our six teams' success when they return.

Photo of Sharon BirdSharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

12:57 pm

Photo of Julia BanksJulia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I second the motion.

12:58 pm

Photo of Ed HusicEd Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to speak on this, because I think these types of events are absolutely important to showcase young talent in our nation, particularly focusing on endeavours that will be important for the country in the years ahead. We know that technology will have a profound impact on the way we work and live our lives generally. The way that communities will operate will either make them more connected or less. It will either make them much better off or see jobs change in a way that will leave people negatively impacted. The challenge for the country, as it is in most parts of the world and especially in our regional neighbourhood, is to invest in human capital, to lift the skills base of people, particularly our next generation, to be able to manage the types of changes to come. Events like the Olympiad, which has been highlighted helpfully by the member, are important ways we can celebrate the achievements of that next generation.

A lot of us heartily celebrate and recognise the people who have been able to secure a spot in the Olympiad that is fast approaching, particularly in terms of science, maths and technology. We do wish them all the very best. I note that hundreds of schools across the country competed and that nearly 6,000 students were involved. In a competition like this, which is trying to ensure that the best and brightest represent us, you will have a group of people who will be very successful as well as those who wish they had been able to secure better success than they did achieve. In looking at the list, I have no doubt it is a very strong group, but this debate throws up something that we need to think about more. A lot of the schools represented there are schools that pride themselves on these endeavours, but I want to see more public schools, and public schools from our outer regions, do well in this. The reason is that, if they do well, you can expect that the breadth of focus, the talent development and the investment in human capital are not being concentrated within the areas closest to the CBDs of our country but there is a wider effort and a wider endeavour. This is very important.

I take nothing away from the students who have been able to secure this. I think we should be aiming higher and ensuring that our ambitions lift. I am very proud that, in our part of Western Sydney, there are a number of schools that are focused a lot on science, technology, engineering and maths. There are about 30 in the Blacktown area, some of which I have been to visit and am proud to see what they are achieving—in particular, the engagement, the enthusiasm and the preparation of young minds for a sustainable life ahead. I recently had the opportunity, with Tesla, to take one of their vehicles to two schools—Quakers Hill Public School and Plumpton High School. Plumpton High, for example, are focused on the F1 challenge and have had some success, and their students are rightfully proud of their involvement there. At Quakers Hill Public School, their young students are actively involved in STEM studies. Both those schools recently got to see a Tesla car and the technology that is in it and to realise that the things they are learning in the classroom are being practically applied in the leading, cutting-edge technology that they're seeing on our roads and that will see changes in the years ahead.

Doonside Technology High School, another school in Western Sydney, last year had experiments successfully selected and included on the International Space Station. Again, these are young students in Western Sydney who are being tested and challenged in a way that will ensure they are better placed for the years ahead. We need to see more of this. I naturally welcome $4.1 million from the government, but I want to see more invested in our schools, in our TAFEs, in our universities. The depth of feeling on that point is shared across the entire opposition, which believes that, at a point when human capital needs to be invested in due to the profound changes in technology, it is not just wrong that we are cutting funds to schools, TAFEs and universities; it is reprehensible. The investment is needed for the generations that follow. We can and should do better. Events like this tell us why we should.

1:03 pm

Photo of Julian HillJulian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Chifley on his lovely haircut! It's a pleasure to be here in the Federation Chamber, the place where good speeches go to die! I'm pleased to get up and support most of this motion from the member for Dunkley—clauses (1), (2) and (4). In doing so, I send my warmest congratulations to the six teams that will be representing Australia in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology—the very brightest of our high school students from across the nation. It is, indeed, as the motion says, an outstanding achievement. It's taken significant effort and intense competition to be selected to represent your country internationally.

In speaking to this motion, I confess that I am a complete science nerd. I've had a lifelong fascination with science. I read science fiction as a kid. I used to love the experiments at school, whether they went right or wrong, and the process of nutting out problems and mathematics and so on. I actually did a science degree, majoring in chemistry, at Monash University a thousand years ago. I think it's really important, though, that the parliament here and there does take a moment to congratulate those bright young Australians who are interested in science.

Science, the arts and sport are not mutually exclusive. You can be good at all three or one or two and so on. But I did feel at times, growing up as a kid, that sport was all that mattered. It was all about sport. My primary school read me wrong in grade 6 when I sat down on the oval and said: 'That's it. I am no longer playing cricket. The ball is scary. I can't catch it. Throw it at me if you will, and I'll get my mum to sue you for grievous bodily harm.' So they suspended me and made me do maths, thinking this was a punishment. So I had a fantastic few days and eventually they gave up and I went back to the classroom.

But I think it's an outstanding thing that we recognise the best and the brightest in this way, and I particularly congratulate warmly two year 12 students from Caulfield Grammar in Wheelers Hill in my electorate: Jerry Mao, who in previous years has won bronze, silver and gold at Olympiads in informatics, and also this year Shanni Chen, who's representing Australia in the International Biology Olympiad. I met them last Monday here in Canberra at the presentation in Parliament House, along with their school principal and their parents, and they were just so proud to be representing their country.

I take issue with part (3) of the motion though. I think the member for Chifley is very generous to acknowledge the government's self-congratulatory prattle in spending $4.1 million over four years. I do note that the member for Dunkley was so committed to this motion he couldn't speak for even four of his five minutes, and then he left. And there are no government speakers on this motion. Not one person in the whole government thought it was worth coming into this chamber for five minutes and congratulating those young Australians who are representing their country in science and maths. Shame on you. Shame on the member for Dunkley for wandering off on his own motion.

While we're thinking about recognising worthy achievements, shame on the government for cutting the Australian Student Prize. From 1991, under the Hawke government, to 2014, under Prime Minister Abbott, 500 annual prizes recognised 500 outstanding high school students across the nation for their academic achievements. They used to get $2,000. When the Abbott government came into office, they said, 'We're going to cut that to $1,000.' Fair enough—it's not about the money; it is about the recognition from your country at a national level that what you have done academically matters. The minister for education said it was about budget repair. Well, 500 times $2,000 is $1 million. If you divide $1 million into the deficit that this government has run up, it doesn't even show up on the calculator.

In my remaining time, I would like to read into the Hansard a couple of quotable quotes. In 2013-14 we had government members running in here to congratulate the students in their electorate. I quote the member for Pearce:

Through this award, the coalition government is supporting Olivia in her efforts … because the government is committed to giving Australian students the best possible education …

The member for Pearce said they were recognising students and high achievers. My personal favourite is the hypocritical member for Higgins:

I am firmly of the belief that the recognition of the pursuit of excellence is vital, as it illustrates the importance of endeavour and the transformative power of education and inspires all of us to achieve the very best in our chosen pursuits in life.

And this is my favourite bit:

I remember the impact that it had on me when I was a student and I received my Australian Student Prize.

She is a member of the very same government that that year voted to cut these prizes forever from other Australian students.

In closing, if the government is serious about recognising Australian students' achievements, how about bringing back the Australian Student Prize? You don't even have to give them cash; you can just recognise the achievements of young Australians.

1:08 pm

Photo of Mike FreelanderMike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the motion of the member for Dunkley. In doing so, I wish to highlight the importance of education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths across both the primary and the secondary years. I wish also to echo the sentiments of previous speakers in congratulating the extraordinary students who will be competing in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology between July and September. These students are amongst the best and brightest of all our students and through this program will have the opportunity to compete against equally gifted and talented students from all across the world. These students are to be commended for having been selected to represent Australia at the Olympiads, having spent a year in preparation for the events.

I wish to also acknowledge and congratulate the thousands of other students from across Australia who participated in the Australian Science Olympiads exams, which of course are the precursor to the International Olympiads. These exams are designed for students in years 10 and 11, and provide an opportunity for the students to challenge themselves beyond the teachings of the classroom. Many of these students voluntarily elected to participate in this program, which I find most encouraging. I strongly believe we should be doing all that we can to ensure that as many students as possible have access to such programs. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in Australia, as there is a significant cost per student involved in participating in the Science Olympiads. Many of the students from my electorate and their schools cannot afford the costs. It's also no secret that, of late, as a nation, Australia has been slipping behind in terms of our students' world and regional rankings in fields such as reading, maths and the sciences. I think this is a great tragedy. I strongly believe that we must do all that we can to curb this disturbing trend. It's something that will affect Australia's future, and we all should think very hard about our school funding, particularly in fields as vital as mathematics and science.

It's no secret that my personal belief is that this government is anti-science. It has demonstrated this on many levels. Since coming into parliament, for example, this government has legislated to sell off the Australian cancer registry to privatise enterprise, and we still have no proper result from that sell-off. It was done surreptitiously. It would have been an opportunity for Australia to develop one of the best health information technologies in the world by enhancing our Medicare platform and by collecting our health statistical information through the Medicare platform—a perfect platform. But, no, this government, of course, sold it off to private enterprise, resulting in fragmentation of our health information, which we'll pay for in the future, no doubt. It's also no secret that this government hived off the APVMA, the agricultural Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, by closing it down in Canberra and moving it to the then Deputy Prime Minister's electorate in Armidale—a great tragedy. The destruction of what was a fantastic scientific resource—and one that will not be back on its feet in months or years, and probably not for decades—is, again, another anti-science move.

It's no secret, either, that this government continues not to fund appropriate higher-level science and mathematics programs in schools, particularly the most disadvantaged schools, and that, by only partially committing to Gonski funding for our secondary education system, we are missing out on the opportunity to properly educate our best and brightest students from disadvantaged areas—again, a great tragedy. I often hear from parents, teachers and academics from my community who have great concerns about the state of education in Australia, in particular in my state of New South Wales. Some of the schools in my electorate have no proper science laboratories and have school infrastructure that's at least 50 or 60 years old and in dire need of refurbishment and replacement. This government is prepared to let the most disadvantaged schools suffer, yet it funds the most advantaged to higher levels. It's a great tragedy.

So, whilst I commend the Science Olympiad program and I commend the students who are involved, it really is something that this government should be encouraging. This government should have a much better record on science and education.

Photo of Maria VamvakinouMaria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:13 to 16:00