Mr SNOWDON (9:41 AM) —In continuing my remarks from last evening, I think it is worth contemplating again the unfairness and potential division that will arise from the new arrangements which are being proposed in the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill 2000. I remind members that the legislation puts in place the 1999 budget decisions which delivered almost $800 million extra for private schools around Australia but only $90 million for government schools, which have twice as many pupils. I pointed out that in that context people in the Northern Territory were being most disadvantaged because they, above all other Australians, have the highest proportion of their student population in the public school system. What we have learnt is that, as a result of these proposals, each private school will receive an allocation of $210 per student while each public school will receive an allocation of $10 per government school child. Not only is that unfair but it is discriminatory. In the case of the Northern Territory, as I portrayed last night, it compounds an already bad situation in relation to educational outcomes and attainment levels in the public sector. This is not the fault of those who are practising teaching at those schools or of the parents; this is a failure of the public sector to provide sufficient resources to be able to ensure that we get the best possible educational opportunities for students in the Northern Territory. The primary responsibility rests, of course, with the Northern Territory government, but the secondary responsibility rests here in this parliament. We, collectively as the members of the Australian parliament, too have a responsibility to ensure that there is fairness and equity in the allocation of resources for educational purposes.

I have had the experience as a parent of participating in a school council, as the chair, and I have taught in the public education system. I am the product of the Catholic system. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind at all about the level of dedication and professionalism of the teachers involved in the public education system right throughout Australia. Frankly, I am sick and tired of the way they are being demonised and pilloried by this government and, in fact, this bill in itself is a slight on their dedication and work. The fact is that we owe these teachers a responsibility. The level of morale within the education system in the Northern Territory is, in my view, at an all time low because the Northern Territory government and now this government have shown an incapacity to understand their obligations in regard to, and to be fair minded about, the allocation of resources for all Australians. This bill is divisive—it shifts money in large buckets from the very needy to the richest in our community. It should be opposed.