Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my first speech in this place I talked about my grandparents living in poverty in Northern Ireland, and how they knew that education was the key to make sure that never happened to their children—my mother and her siblings. They knew that education was the key to being able to take advantage of opportunities. It was the key to being able to get ahead and have more options for a career. It was the key to being able to look after your family. I was lucky enough to be born into a family that valued education and valued education for girls, and I was lucky that my family decided to migrate to Australia when I was very young. My entire education has been here in this country, a country where public education was available and affordable, a country where tertiary education is also subsidised. My life would be very different if I had not been able to access education.

Education is such a key indicator for the rest of your life. In public health there are some key statistics that link educational attainment with health outcomes. Educating women and girls is the most effective way to positively influence the health of the next generation and, at a community or country level, population-wide education is the key to having a highly skilled workforce driving innovation. Education is the most powerful investment a government can make in the future of our nation. That is why the Albanese government's commitment to fully fund public schools matters so deeply. It's not an abstract policy position. It's a statement about who we are, what we value and whose side we're on, and it will benefit every single one of us, whether we have children at school or not. Good-quality, accessible and affordable education at a country-wide level is an investment in the future of the country. It's an investment in the economy and an investment in current and future workforces.

The 2011 review into school funding conducted by David Gonski stressed the need for an equitable school-funding system, one that ensures that differences in educational outcomes are not the result of wealth, income, power, possessions or postcode. The review was established to develop a funding system for Australian schooling which is transparent, fair, financially sustainable and effective in promoting excellent outcomes for all Australian students. Every Australian child should have access to education and access to opportunity. Talent and ability isn't concentrated in certain groups by virtue of postcode, income level or wealth.

Now, over a decade later, public schools are finally on the pathway to full and fair equitable funding thanks to the Albanese Labor government. The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement is a 10-year agreement developed in collaboration with state and territory governments. It represents an extra $16.5 billion over the next decade, and an extra $49 billion in investment over the decade after that. In South Australia it means more that $1 billion in additional funding for public schools across the state. It is the biggest new investment in public schools by an Australian government ever. Importantly, this investment is tied to real and practical reforms like phonics checks and numeracy checks, evidence-based teaching, and catch-up tutoring for kids who need additional support. Ultimately, the success of education is seen in the outcomes for the children and young people using the education system.

This funding will help to make sure students across the country catch up, keep up and finish school. Around two-thirds of Australian students attend public schools, but they also educate the majority of students who have other challenges in their lives. Public schools educate the overwhelming majority of children from low-income households, from regional and remote communities, and from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Yet, for too long, public schools have been asked to do more with less. Under previous arrangements, many public schools never reached their full funding entitlement under the Schooling Resource Standard. The consequence of that failure has been felt in overcrowded classrooms, stretched specialist services and teachers working long hours just to meet the basic needs of their students. Labor is changing that. We are committed to full and fair funding for every public school. Need—not postcode, not parental income—must determine the level of support a child receives.

The additional funding will mean more teachers in classrooms, reducing class sizes and giving students the attention they deserve. It will mean additional learning supports for students with disability. It will mean targeted funding for literacy and numeracy intervention, mental health support, and wellbeing programs that recognise the whole child, not just their test results. It will mean properly supporting schools in regional and remote communities, where staffing pressures are real and resources must stretch further. And it means backing schools in suburbs where disadvantage too often compounds across generations.

Fully funding public schools is also about respecting teachers and education workers. Teachers do not enter the profession to struggle against systemic underfunding. They enter it to teach, to inspire and to change lives. Labor's approach recognises that, when we invest in schools, we are investing in the professionals who make those schools work. Ultimately, we are investing in our next generation of Australians. This is not about ideology, it's about evidence. Every credible education review has shown that needs based funding works. It lifts outcomes for students who are falling behind without dragging down those who are already doing well. It strengthens equity and improves overall performance. Equity in education is not about lowering standards, it's about lifting everyone.

On this side, we know that education is the foundation of economic participation, social cohesion and opportunity. We know that a child's future should not be shaped by their parents' income, the suburb they grow up in or whether their school can afford specialist staff. Labor believes that public education is the backbone of a fair society and that a strong public system benefits everyone, not just those who use it directly. Fully funding public schools is how we break cycles of disadvantage. It's how we give every child a genuine chance to succeed, and it's how we ensure Australia has a skilled, confident and capable workforce for the future.

I recently met with some of the outstanding public school students in my electorate to talk about social media and hear about the amazing opportunities being afforded them by good-quality public education. Lachlan Pfitzner was the dux at Unley High School in 2025, and it was lovely to see him recently awarded Young Citizen of the Year by Mitcham Council for his work strengthening student voice and leading charity fundraisers, including for access to period products. He also helped establish a native garden featuring locally endemic plants and co-organised the inaugural Yarapurla Cup interschool sports competition with three other local public schools: Urrbrae Agricultural High School, Blackwood High School and Mitcham Girls High School.

Lachlan's passion for service extends beyond the school gates through his volunteering with Friends of Belair National Park and St John Ambulance SA, where he's represented South Australia at a national level. Mitcham Council said of Lachlan:

Leadership doesn't always look loud. Sometimes it looks like listening, noticing what's missing, and stepping up to make positive change.

One of the other students I met with was Felicity Cox. Unley High School is one of those rare public schools that's lucky enough to have a rowing program—not a common experience in public schools in Adelaide. Felicity's mother, Michelle Cox, says:

The Unley Rowing program has changed my children's lives. I don't know what we would have done without it. We are so grateful that they've had the opportunity to learn all the life skills rowing teaches them. A sentiment I've heard from many of the families with children who row, so proud of how the Unley students conduct and manage themselves and their racing.

Felicity's exciting news is that she is off to Ohio State University on a scholarship, where she will row for four years while earning an engineering degree and living her dream. She'll begin in August 2026, and she'll continue to row for the South Australian state team until then. It all started with Unley High—a public school and the alma mater of Julia Gillard, former PM; Mark Butler, Minister for Health and Ageing; Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; and many, many others. These two students are just two of the young Australians who have benefited from an excellent public education. We want that experience to be available for every Australian child, no matter their postcode and no matter their parents' income. When we fully fund public schools, we invest not just in education but in opportunity, fairness, hope and a better future for our country.