Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This month marks an important milestone for public education in Australia. To mark the occasion, I have a pop quiz for the House. Colleagues, are you ready?

Question 1: which government is delivering full and fair funding for all public schools in Australia? It's the Albanese Labor government. We worked with every state and territory government to get this great result.

Question 2: when did we finally secure the agreements to fully fund our public schools? It was one year ago. This time last year, the New South Wales government signed their agreement, and, shortly after, Queensland signed on as the final jurisdiction. These agreements will deliver $16.5 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to public schools over the next decade.

Question 3: what happens when a government properly funds public education? You get more support for students, more teachers in classrooms and more resources for schools so that every child in this country can reach their full potential, no matter their background.

My last question: who neglected and underfunded Australia's public schools for a decade? It was those opposite. They refused to back our public schools, and I'm so proud that we are finally fixing that.