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

I rise today to discuss the Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017, but start with a story. It is a story that took place in my electorate in the cut and thrust of a federal election campaign. A week before the election, I returned a phone call from one of my constituents in Mount Waverley in Chisholm. I returned this call after a winter's day in the cold and rain. I called him late that winter's evening because something in the emotional undertone of this man's voice message compelled me to call him back that night rather than the next day. He spent the first few minutes conveying his immense gratitude for my returning the call, but then he said, emotionally: 'Julia, I'm so sorry to burden you with this. Yesterday my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.' He started to cry, and then said, 'There are so many tests and a lot of expenses with scans et cetera.' I wondered where this was going, and then he just blurted out, very emotionally, 'Julia, tell me it's not true.' 'What?' I said. He said: 'Last night'—the day of his wife's diagnosis—'I took a call on my landline. It was really late. It was about 10.30 at night. I thought it was more bad news, but it was someone'—in his words—'obviously from the Labor Party or a union guy, who, point blank, said, "The Liberals are going to sell Medicare." Tell me it's not true.' I then spent half an hour on the phone with this lovely man—an elderly gentleman from Mount Waverley—and reassured him that this was absolutely not true. Why do I tell this story? I tell it because it demonstrates that for those on the other side telling mistruths is second nature. Labor's opposition to the education reforms, their bullying approach and their misleading comments continue to this day. Worst of all, Labor have chosen to mislead in two of the most important areas in Australian's lives—health and education. It is outstanding, but not surprising, that they are excelling at creating mistruths. We have just heard the member for Griffith mention the words 'cuts' and '$22 billion' so many times, none of which exist.

When the Quality Schools program was announced by the Prime Minister and Minister Birmingham, with David Gonski standing alongside them, endorsing Gonski 2, Labor obviously did not know where to turn. Clearly they felt skewered. For many months now they have tried to lay claim to the value and equity of the Gonski name. But what Labor did not factor in is that their lies and misleading conduct just will not prevail this time. They will not get the trajectory they had achieved to a large extent from the 'Mediscare' campaign.

Upon the announcement, the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, for example, and his army of spin doctors, went into overdrive. They hurriedly announced that the opposition leader would conduct a press conference at a Catholic school in Melbourne, the key objective of which was to denounce the education reforms, particularly for Catholic schools. Labor and the army of spin doctors were hard at it—but hard at it with spin, untruths, getting false messages out, a very 'Mediscare'-esque type of campaign. What they did not bank on, though, was that this time they could not target the most vulnerable in the dead of night, like that elderly gentleman in Mt Waverley—those who do not have mobile phones and therefore cannot switch to silent mode in the evening, those who are the most vulnerable. No, this time they had to confront the facts—and they still have to.

They had the principals, the fine school leaders, and the parents and teachers of Australian schools to answer to in the cold light of day. They could not accommodate the fact that the Prime Minister was there standing with David Gonski, the man himself, which, on its own, ostensibly showed to Australia that he has endorsed the Quality Schools program as it has articulated his vision. It has not created this mishmash of secret deals and this rushed supposed implementation, unfunded. Moreover, what they really could not deal with was the absolute, solid transparency of the Quality Schools program. At every turn, every untruth they raise about individual schools, they raise flawed, inconsistent data. But the truth and transparency of the school funding estimator is all anyone needs to turn to.

Moreover—and quite bizarrely—notwithstanding that the opposition has the greatest number of Catholic schools in his electorate of Maribyrnong, Labor's spin doctors obviously thought it best and more strategic that the press opportunity for the opposition leader should take place in the Holy Family School in Mt Waverley, in Chisholm, and not in his local electorate. The opposition leader and his massive press contingent dragged themselves to my electorate of Chisholm, the seat we took from Labor in the last election. 'Let's put politics before the people', is likely what they would have said as they created this fictionally based outcry over these fair and reasonable reforms. They could rely only on mistruths, complete and blatant disregard of the facts. The shadow minister for education refused to commit to a $22 billion funding commitment for money they do not have, and the shadow Treasurer emotively declared that Catholic schools were in 'meltdown'—not according to the facts. Labor continued their media campaign, running around the country using alarmist, emotive language, and they have continued this truly remarkable campaign of lies this week. But what Labor really, really hate is the transparency. Every time they try to sell a fictional story about an individual school, anyone need only go to the estimator.

The Turnbull government will deliver the real, authentic Gonski needs based funding model that Labor did not. We will end Labor's special deals with states and territories, unions and non-government school leaders. Labor traded away the principles of the Gonski report and corrupted the Gonski brand and integrity and model for pure political expediency. The other thing they have not done is actually talk to the people who will be most affected by this: the fine school leaders of our country, who have our children's—and our children's children's—education in their hands. No: Labor have relied just on their media machine. Well, unfortunately for Labor, a key value and principle that our school leaders impart to our children is the necessity and integrity behind telling the truth.

I personally communicated with, spoke to and met face to face with many of the fine school leaders in my electorate of Chisholm, particularly over the last few weeks, to clarify the facts. I talked about the reforms and the specific numbers and increased funding that their individual schools would receive. School leaders, and every Australian, have a high regard for the facts, unlike Labor. And when the facts are presented to them in a transparent and clear way, it is more than appreciated.

As I discussed with the school leaders in my electorate, the facts are this. Fact: the government will commit an additional $18.6 billion for Australia's schools over the next decade, commencing in 2018. Fact: it will be distributed according to a model of fair, needs based and transparent funding. Fact: the investment will be tied to school reforms which are proven to boost student results. Fact: such a strong level of funding is vital, and what is more vital is how the funding is used. Fact: the Turnbull government's education reforms and needs based funding model for schools, endorsed by David Gonski, is about fairness—no more Labor generated secret deals; no more 27 deals and favouritism for certain sectors or schools; and not the mishmash of the rollout conducted by Labor.

Labor have decided to target Catholic schools particularly in this campaign of lies. Here is another fact for them: the Catholic schooling system around Australia will receive more than $1.2 billion in extra money over the next four years and around $3.4 billion in extra money over the next 10 years.

In relation to systemic arrangements, that is, school operated systems, including the Catholic schooling system around the country: they will still continue to receive their funding as a lump sum funding entitlement into the future—the principals know this—enabling them to redistribute that money across their schools as they see fit. There is no reason, with that scale of additional funding flying into their schools, that fees need to increase anywhere around the country. If they do, that is a decision for the Catholic education authorities, who are responsible for allocating that lump sum.

In fact, the only concern expressed by the school leaders I visited, particularly in the last few weeks, is more about the alarmist media campaigns and misleading commentary made by emotive language and untruths about the future of their children's education from Labor, all of which is counterproductive to the integrity and philosophy of Gonski 2.

Here are some more facts for the Labor Party—those on the other side: some facts about Chisholm. In fact, Chisholm has 48 schools. In every sector and in every local community in the electorate of Chisholm, those 48 schools, including 12 Catholic schools, will be receiving significant increases in funding because of our needs based funding model. In Chisholm, the total increase in federal government funding over the next 10 years is $244 million. This is great news for the primary and secondary schools in Chisholm and for their over 20,000 students.

The facts are what the Turnbull government relies on. Let me tell you some facts, Mr Deputy Speaker, about Holy Family School in Mount Waverley—the one where the opposition leader had his press conference but did not speak to the principal, interestingly enough; certainly not in public.

See this speech in context