Wednesday, 18 October 2023

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:28): Education is the single most important investment we can make in our future. Lifelong learning, beginning in early childhood and extending all the way to a person’s chosen profession, has to be the norm. Under the Allan Labor government, we are getting on with building the Education State in every corner of our state. On this side of the house we know that when you transform a school, you transform a community. We know growing equality of opportunity and growing –

Richard Riordan interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for Polwarth can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Polwarth withdrew from chamber.

Ben CARROLL: educational outcomes can mean the difference between someone having the life they choose and getting on and doing everything they want to make a great commitment in their life.

John Pesutto: Then why aren’t you helping, Ben? Why aren’t you helping?

Ben CARROLL: We are helping. I will take that interjection.

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I ask you not to call members by their names but by their correct titles.

Ben CARROLL: Fifteen billion dollars – almost – invested in schools. We have built more schools in this state than any other state in Australia. We are above the national average for teacher recruitment. Five thousand teachers have been recruited in just the past two years. And guess what, we are at the top of the class for NAPLAN. Every time I visit a school I come back very motivated, just like when I was with the member for Melton last week at Binap Primary talking to the local principal and the community. I am very pleased to inform the house that of the 100 schools that we have committed to open by 2026, we will already have 75 open by next year. That is supporting some 20,000 jobs in construction and getting on and delivering it.

Let us talk about the other side for just 20 seconds: $1 billion cut from the education budget, education maintenance allowance cut and student support officers cut – and they went even so low as to cut free fruit on Friday for our most vulnerable kids. They like to talk about education. They never deliver on it. They cut, they cut and they cut.