Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is easy to stand here today and refute these allegations in this matter of public importance. If I can concentrate on some of the aspects that Senator Mason did, something I love talking about in this chamber is the Building the Education Revolution. I characterise it as this: new halls, libraries, science centres, undercover learning areas, performing arts buildings and kitchens, refurbished classrooms and Japanese gardens. Can you really describe—as do the opposition—those facilities, those initiatives, the advantages of them and how they will impact on our future generations of students—as waste or failure? We put $16.2 billion into that program, which is ensuring our children have the best education facilities money can buy, and those opposite are calling it waste.

I have been so privileged to be a duty senator for five duty seats—Longman, Dickson, Brisbane, Forde and Wright—and to have the opportunity to go to some of those openings—I think it is now somewhere in excess of 134—to officiate the opening of the Building the Education Revolution projects. Each school has generally built something different as a result of their desire and their consultation, generally with their parents and citizens associations—in some cases they have collaborated with the Catholic education system—and they have made amazing achievements.

Some of the schools I have visited can now fit their entire student body into one location. This kicked off their full assemblies, something they were never able to do before. Quite often I get comments from principals, teachers, students, parents and the P&Cs that they would have never been able to achieve these facilities through lamington drives or their other ways of raising money in the past. They would never have been able to get these facilities had it not been for a Labor government. It has been the biggest injection of funds into schools ever by a federal government.

One school built a language centre and a Zen garden to complement their Japanese students. They were also working with a local primary school, the University of Queensland and the Japanese consulate to give their students a boost in learning the language. We only just the other day released our white paper on the Asian century and what will happen in our schools in the future in providing these opportunities for people to learn another language. Another school on the Sunshine Coast ensured they had a nice big kitchen, and it was built into their hall to complement their federal government-funded Stephanie Alexander garden. This way the students could learn how to grow their own vegetables and use these fresh products to make healthy meals. You tell me if that is waste.

I have seen covered sporting facilities, where students can play sport or do HPE classes, rain, hail or shine. I have seen performing arts buildings where schools can now host their own musicals and plays. The possibilities are endless when it comes to these opportunities. The other added benefit of the Building the Education Revolution is the ability of communities to have access to some of these halls that schools have chosen to build. Karate classes, church groups and so on have come into the halls and had the opportunity to use them on the weekends or after school. I have spoken to parents, teachers and principals, and not one of them has indicated any negativity about the BER project—only those opposite.

As you know, Acting Deputy President Marshall, some of the opposition turn up—whether federal or, in my case the other day, one of the new LNP Queensland state members—and they will push you out of the way to get in the photograph. They cannot wait to be in the photograph about a project they condemned all the time. We just heard from Senator Mason, who was condemning the BER project, and the opposition voted against it. But there they are, pushing their way in and stumbling over each other to try and get into the photograph. The hypocrisy of this is stark. The hypocrisy of those opposite and from the other House turning up to be part of these photographs is unbelievable. And what did it do? It generated jobs, and certainly in those five duty seats that I indicated. Longman, Dickson, Brisbane, Forde and Wright—all those members have turned up on most occasions for the Building the Education Revolution openings.