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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-20 Daily Xml
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Federal Budget

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister update the house on the impact of the commonwealth's Students First budget package on South Australian students?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:38): I thank the member for Reynell for her question about the federal government's Students First budget package. Sir:

We think that money is important; it's very important to educational outcomes that schools are properly funded...

They are the words of Tony Abbott in August last year. What we now know is that Tony Abbott's Students First budget will see $5.5 billion lost from schools and our hospitals in South Australia over the next decade—$5.5 billion. The first to suffer are students and sick people—students first! With $320 million gone from our Gonski agreement for better schools funding in South Australian schools for 2018 and 2019, there is a good chance this figure will be even higher, as this is calculated on the assumption that CPI will be indexed at 3 per cent.

This, from the Liberal Party who assured South Australians before the election they were a unity ticket with Labor on Gonski reforms. There is no question Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne have gutted Gonski, with Mr Pyne saying the agreement was a 'blue-sky promise'.

There's nothing blue sky about our six-year signed agreement for Better Schools funding. We signed up, the independent sector signed up and the Catholic sector signed up to a six-year deal to ensure support for every student who needs it. For the first time we had a funding model that removed the divide between state, Catholic and independent schools. Unlike Joe Hockey, Labor believes there's nothing bonus about having a well funded education system.

But it doesn't stop there, sir. Universal access to preschools now hangs by a thread, with only contingency funding provided in the budget and there's no guarantee this will be around in the future. Parents won't know until late this year whether their child will receive the full 15 hours next year. They are waiting for minister Ley to make up her mind on funding. There are cuts to child care, including to family day care, which the national peak body estimates means fee increases of around $35 a week. But it goes further, as the tightened eligibility criteria for operational support funding means centres only receive support if they are the sole operator in an area and they must be in a rural remote or disadvantaged community. So, both criteria apply.

With 12 schemes operated by my department, it's estimated that $3.2 million is at risk, with half of those services being provided in rural areas—services to nearly 3,200 children. Then there's Youth Connections, a scheme helping around 2,000 South Australians get back to school. Funding to non-government organisations for this program has been hit by a $5.4 million cut—hardly a sign of wanting young people to be learning or earning. To be fair, under the Students First package, nationally we see a staggering $9.8 million spent on trialling an early language learning package in 40 preschools. Forty preschools around the nation—we will be lucky to get three of them provided with funding in South Australia.

The SPEAKER: The member's time has expired. The member for Mount Gambier.

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