Mrs GASH (5:55 PM) —Last night I was speaking to the parliament about government versus non-government funding. I did not have the time to finish my speech, so I would like to take up from where I left off. Why is the New South Wales government not matching the increase in federal funding of state government schools, given the savings it is making? It would almost be worth encouraging students to leave, would it not, if you are still going to get the money? No-one is asking why students are leaving the state government school system. I did, and the answer is always the same—discipline, choice, the quality of education.

No-one is blaming the teachers, but I do blame the state minister and the Labor state government for taking away the autonomy of teachers and the schools. Bob Carr has failed to recognise the professionalism of teachers and he has failed to support them. To make this point, only last week I opened some new facilities funded by the federal and state governments at Sanctuary Point Public School. As part of the ceremony, over 30 students—the largest number ever—received certificates of Credit, Distinction and High Distinction in the University of New South Wales English, Maths and Science competitions. This is not an isolated incident. Yet the state government, instead of talking positively about schools, has taken the coward's way of belittling the state system and continuing to say how bad things are. Naturally, this gives the public the perception that state students are missing out on basic learning.

How many times did parents have to find other care for their children because the union had called everyone out on strike again, and yet again? Where were you, Minister Aquilina and Mr Carr? What did you do to stop this call for help from the teachers? Where was the Labor state member in my electorate? He ran away and hid somewhere so they could not find him. I ask the question: if the media and campaign material from the teachers union sent home with your children each week were your main source of information, why would you send your kids to a state government school? Yet the reality is so often very different.

Let me finish by saying just how much federal government funding for capital upgrading of state schools has gone into my Gilmore electorate: Callala Bay Public School, $2.1 million; Ulladulla Public School, $2.15 million; North Nowra Public School and Havenlee School for Specific Purposes, just over $4 million; Sanctuary Point Public School, $188,000; Kiama Public School, $2.65 million; West Nowra University campus, $6 million; and West Nowra TAFE campus, $5 million. That totals $22.1 million. This is $22.1 million funded by the federal government for public facilities.

In the same period we spent $350,000 in capital funding for private schools in Gilmore, or a ratio of over 63:1—not bad for a federal government that supposedly does not care about and supposedly is ripping off state government schools. I think it is high time this `them and us' situation stopped. Parents have no reason to feel guilty, regardless of where their children are sent to school. Australia is—thank God—a country that promotes, without intimidation, freedom of choice and freedom of speech.

Whilst I am on my feet, could I also congratulate the Culburra Beach Association for raising in the last 10 years over $1.5 million of community funds. With that $1.5 million, they built a total retirement village. Just recently they built an ambulance station and a health centre, at a total cost of $500,000. They recognised the need for an ambulance service in the Culburra Beach area and the state government did not provide the funding after it said it would in the last state election. So the town community took it upon themselves. Led by Mr Morris Bruce, the chemist, and Mr Derek Buckley, they raised the community funding themselves. Last week they opened that ambulance station with three ambulances in it. I would like to take the time to congratulate publicly the Culburra Beach Association on the work that they have done in recognising the needs of their community and funding those needs to the tune of $1.5 million in the last 10 years.