Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Milne for her question. The minister for schools has indicated on a number of occasions that it is his intention to have legislation ready for consideration by the parliament before the end of this year. The government is determined to pursue the reforms as outlined in the Gonski review. We are committed to ensuring that every child has access to a world-class education so that each student can reach his or her potential, and that is why the government has doubled the funding for Australian schools compared to that under the Howard government. That is why this government has modernised facilities in every school. That is why this government is investing in better teacher training and that is why this government has provided information about children's education through the My School website. This is, of course, a very strong record of performance by the government and we are determined to ensure that the parliament has the opportunity to consider this legislation. We will announce our final response to the review very shortly. Until that time it is too early to talk about the various funding arrangements that are to be made with the states, but we have made a commitment from the outset to deliver on this review and we will continue to work with the states and territories and the non-government sectors to improve all Australian schools.