Mr PYNE —My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Can the minister inform the House what benefits the budget is bringing to schools in Australia? Is the minister aware of inaccurate comments on funding for schools, and what is his response to these comments?

Mr Howard —Hear, hear! Mr Literacy!

Dr KEMP (Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs;Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) —Thank you, Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister has just commented, this government is committed to raising the quality of education for all Australian school children. That is evidenced by the fact that we now have agreement on Australia's first national literacy standards. It is evidenced by the fact that we are now putting more and more money into schools to help vocational education and training courses get under way for the 70 per cent of students who are not going straight on to university.

This budget reflects the coalition's commitment to increasing the quality of education for all Australian school children in government and non-government schools. The simple fact is that the coalition government has increased funding for schools, has put more money into schools, and is putting more money into government schools.

The only people who do not seem to realise this are the Australian Education Union and their ventriloquist doll here in the House, the member for Werriwa, who has issued at their behest one of his very rare press releases on education. We rarely hear from the member for Werriwa on education and this is a matter of concern to those sitting beside him, but because the Australian Education Union has provided him with a few figures he has decided to put out a press release on funding for government schools.

He claims in this press release that funding for government schools diminishes in real terms by some $89 million in this budget. This is absolutely wrong. He has reached this extraordinary conclusion because he has tried all sorts of statistical manipulations and used figures which are not correct. Let me correct them. He quotes a figure for the enrolment benchmark adjustment of $270 million. The correct estimate is $70 million; he was only $200 million out.

Mr Costello —He is the author of their tax policies.

Dr KEMP —You can imagine how their spending and taxing policies are going to look after the member for Werriwa has applied his great mind to them. In this press release he also applies a discount for price increases derived from the price increase between two years, 1994-95 and 1995-96, to the difference between this year's school funding and last year's school funding. Absolutely incorrect. Let me put the actual figures on the record for members of the House. In comparison to the last year of the Labor Party in government this government is spending $147 million more on government schools than in 1996. In New South Wales government schools are getting $47 million more than they did in the last year of the Labor government. In Victoria and Queensland government schools are getting $32 million more. And so it goes on across all the states and territories. Western Australia is getting $17 million more for its government schools and South Australia is getting $9 million more. The member for Werriwa has completely overlooked the funding in the joint schools programs. He has completely overlooked the money coming from the Australian National Training Authority for vocational education and school to work programs in schools. He has completely overlooked the funding coming to schools through the financial assistance grants as well as the specific purpose grants. This government is committing more money for government schools.

Let me comment on what is perhaps the saddest element of the claims being made by the member for Werriwa and the Australian Education Union. They are going out there telling parents in this country that government schools are being run down. They are prepared to sacrifice the interests of government schools on the alter of their short-term political interests with these totally misleading, viciously untrue statements being made by the member for Werriwa. We will continue to put on the record the fact that this government is committing more resources to government schools, not less, and government schools and government school students are better off than they have ever been before as a result of this budget.