Mr JOHN COBB (5:32 PM) —I rise to speak strongly in support of the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2002. I was interested to hear the member for Lingiari speak, because I come from a big electorate myself, which is probably a third of the size of New South Wales. While it is nowhere near the size of Lingiari it does have quite similar problems. I appreciate very sincerely what he said about the problems in the outback. I am sure that we both have a similar problem in getting state governments to match Commonwealth funding. I am sure that he will be as pleased and as proud as I am of the fact that since 1996 the Commonwealth government has increased spending on state schools by over 50 per cent.

We need to look at some of the problems we have with schools. Quite apart from all the state schools in my electorate, which in recent times have certainly had cause to be thankful that the Commonwealth has increased its funding to the extent that it has, the non-government schools have also had cause to be thankful. Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing money go to schools in Trundle, Forbes and West Wyalong that desperately needed to upgrade their facilities to make it possible for the kids in my electorate to do their schooling in far better circumstances.

If you look at the Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, which certainly covers most of News South Wales and which almost coincides with my electorate and virtually takes in all the outback, there are 21 Catholic schools in that area. There are probably another four or five other non-government schools. Without doubt, the money they get from the Commonwealth, along with the government schools, makes a huge difference in places like Nyngan, Cobar and Broken Hill. So the stress taken away from the government schools and the money that both the government and non-government schools are now able to access have made an enormous difference. We have seen it in the last few years. The point to be made about this bill is that we cannot have any hesitation in passing it. Schools tend to look at their proposals a long way ahead; we are looking at the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. The sooner this bill can be wrapped up, the sooner it can move forward and our outback schools can get the benefit of it and plan ahead, the better off they will be.

During the last election, in my electorate I had the Teachers Federation accuse me, and the federal government generally, of not providing money for government schools. This was despite the fact that at the moment $316 million a year is being spent on doing up schools around Australia. Of that, $227 million is going in grants to state schools and only $89 million is going to non-government schools. Given that a third of all children go to non-government schools, it is obvious that far more money is going in the direction of government schools. The facts speak for themselves: the level at which we are funding government schools is increasing at a far greater rate than the level of funding for non-government schools.

Without a doubt the Teachers Federation has been working hand in hand with the Labor Party. Its attack during the last election was certainly political; it was not an attack about the facts or an attack to try to change the funding arrangements in my electorate. Despite the fact that government schools are getting a lot more money than non-government schools, you have to wonder if the Teachers Federation has a point. Why isn't more money going to government schools, or to schools in general, in New South Wales? The simple fact remains that state financial mismanagement can be the only reason that government schools do not receive a lot more than they do. When you have a simple look at the figures, you can see just how much money is not going to schools in New South Wales. As I said earlier, the Commonwealth government has increased its funding by over 50 per cent since 1966. Well over two-thirds of children—69 per cent—attend state schools and get 78 per cent of the funds that we spend on education. About one million children—31 per cent—attend Catholic and independent schools and receive only 22 per cent of funds.

The federal government increased funding to New South Wales schools by 5.3 per cent, so why haven't we got more money for our schools? You only have to look at the fact that while we have increased funding of 5.3 per cent, John Watkins, the state education minister, increased funding in New South Wales by only two per cent. I wonder if this is similar to the case of funding for roads. The Roads to Recovery program, over four years, is going to put $1.2 billion more into regional roads in Australia. As a result of that, our spectator in federal parliament today, Carl Scully, the Minister for Roads, is telling the councils around country New South Wales—and certainly in my electorate—to use Commonwealth funding for things that the state has funded in the past.

Is this what is happening with education? Did the New South Wales government, and John Watkins in particular, wait to see what we did? When they saw that we made a 5.3 per cent funding increase, did they say, `Here's a good chance for us to save a quid; let's only increase our funding by two per cent'? Who are the losers? The Commonwealth government is not the loser; the kids in New South Wales, including the kids in my electorate, are the losers. By comparison, they are losing about $202 million.

The States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2002, which we are debating here today, will ensure that approval of Commonwealth capital funding assistance for both government and non-government schools can proceed. This bill maintains and continues the Commonwealth's commitment to assisting government and non-government schools with important infrastructure projects which will support the aims of the schools and the kids who attend them.

I can assure you that schools in towns like West Wyalong, Hillston and Lake Cargellico in the south of my electorate are waiting to make sure that they can do some planning in the years ahead for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. During the last election, as I said earlier, the opposition and the Teachers Federation ran a campaign of deliberate misinformation, saying that the coalition favoured the funding of non-government schools. What the public needs to realise is that the Australian Labor Party, with the Teachers Federation, is running a campaign of misinformation with out and out lies. Going and talking with teachers, you realise that the vast majority of them are not raving left-wingers; they are people with a very serious intent to teach children and are probably, on the whole, conservative voters. So the Teachers Federation is not only running the Labor Party platform but it is also neglecting to represent its own people.

As I have said, the federal government provides over $316 million each year for capital works in both government and non-government schools. Government schools receive way over the 68 per cent of funding equating to the proportion of children that attend them. Contrary to what we are told by the Labor Party, as I have said, the amount provided by the Commonwealth for government schools far exceeds the amount commensurate with the number of children going to those schools. In recent times it has been put that over $140 million more goes to government schools than to non-government schools.

Next year, in 2003, the Commonwealth will spend an estimated $811 million more on government schools than the Labor Party spent on them in its last year of office. As I have said, this is an increase of well over 50 per cent. Government schools have always received the majority of public funding for school education. At the same time we need to remember that the Catholic and private school systems save Australia around $2 billion a year. In fact, I know that in New South Wales education would collapse absolutely without the involvement of the nongovernment system. The existence of these private school systems enables parents to exercise choice—and it is a choice they have every right to. The opposition must understand that any delay could mean a cessation of funding. I cannot believe that anybody would vote not to pass this bill. I listened to the remarks of the member for Lingiari. I note that he must be in as big a hurry as any of us to make sure that this legislation goes through to ensure, hopefully, that the increase in funding to schools in general that has been effected by the Commonwealth government since 1996 continues.

The government has been and will continue to be strongly committed to raising standards and improving outcomes for all students, no matter which sort of school they attend. It is time that the Teachers Federation and the opposition stop misleading the public and admit the extent to which this government has turned around the funding of all schools, public and private. Just imagine how far back the funding of New South Wales schools would be without the increases that have been effected by this government. Certainly they would be down $200 million from the New South Wales government, but they would be down many times that without having had our increases in funding over the last six years.

We are talking about $478 million that is missing in government funding of schools around Australia. That amount is missing because the state governments have abdicated their responsibility. While I do not like to denigrate my own state, $202 million of that amount is due to a lack of funding by the New South Wales government. The New South Wales government's history in this area is the worst and its failure to provide funding by far exceeds all others: two percent is the lowest increase in funding of all the states in Australia. The highest increase in funding is the Northern Territory's 5.6 per cent. But, as I have said, New South Wales has only increased its funding by two per cent, or $202 million.

New South Wales funding represents roughly a third of what happens around Australia, but in this particular case it is well over that amount that is in shortfall. Out of $478 million, New South Wales has ducked out of $202 million. Obviously, Mr Watkins, the Minister for Education and Training, and Mr Scully, the Minister for Transport, and Minister for Roads, have decided that they will duck out of whatever the federal government puts in—it does not matter whether it is transport, schools or whatever. That is a disgraceful figure. We have overcrowded classrooms, and the Teachers Federation points the finger at the federal government when it should point the finger at the Labor governments around Australia, and New South Wales in particular.

Small towns in my electorate, such as Tottenham, Menindee, Trundle and Peak Hill, cannot afford to miss out on the things that the state government is refusing to fund. The states must apply these additional funds to government schools. They cannot continue to rip off the children in the electorate of Parkes. Like the member for Lingiari, we have remote schools, schools in the outback. The federal government cannot pick up on the things that the state is refusing to do.

This bill has to be passed. I will be amazed if it is not and if anybody votes against it. It would well become the Labor Party and the federal government to talk not only to the Teachers Federation but also to the other governments around Australia about getting their facts right and about doing the things they are meant to do and to look after their children.