Mrs ELSON (1:03 PM) —I would like to thank, firstly, the member for Port Adelaide for his response to the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training entitled Boys: getting it right: report on the inquiry into the education of boys. His response was as exceptional as the contribution he made during the inquiry. It was my pleasure to chair this inquiry for most of 2001 before I was appointed Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. My very capable and talented colleague the member for Macquarie took over the chair of this committee. I congratulate him and the member for Port Adelaide for the fine jobs they have done in bringing this inquiry to its conclusion and tabling the report. All members of the committee would appreciate the commitment that both of these people put in to ensure the very positive results we see here today. I again thank them for their major contributions.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words on this report. The education of our children is one of the most crucial issues governments deal with at both federal and state levels. There was a time when girls were very clearly disadvantaged at school in comparison to the way boys performed. I believe that was certainly the case in my generation. Today, however, we have seen a remarkable reversal of fortunes—boys consistently achieve at a far lower level than girls when it comes to the national literacy and numeracy benchmarks; fewer boys stay on to year 12 than girls; girls on average achieve higher marks in the majority of subjects in year 12; and today around 56 per cent of university commencements are females, while a higher proportion of boys go to vocational training. This is very clear evidence that boys are not faring as well as girls at school.

This is an issue that in the past has not received the attention it deserved—mainly because some sections of the community feared that addressing this imbalance would mean a diminishing of the gains girls had made. This is not the case at all. The one thing that I want to stress above all else is that raising the educational achievements of boys can be done without threatening the gains made by girls. As a mother of four sons and four daughters, I have balanced loyalties in this regard. As parents, we want the very best for our children regardless of gender, and that clearly ought to be the aim of our education system as well. But it became fairly obvious throughout this inquiry that boys are being let down by the system as it currently operates.

Obviously, I do not have time today to touch on all of the recommendations of this report. It is extensive and it has been several years in the making to allow a very thorough examination of the problems and possible solutions we can implement. I want to touch briefly today on chapter 5, which stresses the importance of literacy and numeracy. There are 10 practical recommendations in this area, and I believe this is where real differences can be achieved. Consistently at year 3 and year 5 in every state across Australia, a lower percentage of boys than girls are achieving the benchmark literacy and numeracy standards. Poor achievements in literacy and numeracy can be linked with leaving school earlier, lower rates of entry to further learning, and higher rates and longer periods of unemployment. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister for Education, Science and Training and his predecessor, the member for Goldstein, for their unstinting commitment to pursuing benchmark literacy and numeracy levels.

I am particularly pleased with recommendation 11 of this report, which calls on the government to make sure that the states and territories are effectively using the additional funding we have provided for literacy and numeracy to provide support for disadvantaged students who are identified as needing it most. I know there are some extremely effective and innovative literacy and numeracy programs currently operating in some schools. Shortly before I became chair of this committee, we had a public hearing at the Eagleby State School in my electorate, which has achieved remarkable results with its literacy and numeracy programs. I take this opportunity to congratulate the many fine teachers at Eagleby school who are making such a difference in the lives of students and indeed the whole community.

The importance of literacy and numeracy cannot be overstated, especially in looking to address the difficulties some boys face. In the short time I have left, I want to emphasise the importance of male teachers, fathers and role models as discussed in chapter 6 of the report and recommendations 17, 18 and 19. It has become rather fashionable in some sections of the community to discount the crucial role fathers and male role models play in the development of our children, especially boys. This is an attitude that clearly has to change in the wake of growing evidence that fathers and strong role models have a crucial role to play. It is obvious that we need proactive policies that encourage more males into the teaching profession for the benefit of all children, and particularly to help address some of the problems that boys are experiencing. I wish I had more time to canvass the greater range of issues that this report raises. I hope it will be a positive starting point for governments across the nation to examine and address this issue. (Time expired).