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Monday, 4 July 2011
Page: 7285

Mr WYATT (Hasluck) (11:54): I rise today to support the motion put forward by the member for Sturt. I would suggest that the House acknowledges the importance of all education sectors in the provision of education for children regardless of whether they are in the government or non-govern­ment sector. If we as a nation want to capitalise on and improve the pathways for society and our quality of life then education is a significant element in achieving that. I also want to say that parents choose schools for educational, religious and socioeconomic reasons, and for those choices we should not diminish them but rather allow them that opportunity. Their decision to pay for an element of education should never be diminished by the fact that this Australian government has a responsibility to all.

The funding, whilst guaranteed, does not include the CPI indexing or future arrangements beyond 2013 and 2014. In my electorate of Hasluck, non-government schools such as La Salle College, Lumen Christi College, Mary's Mount Primary School, Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School, Mazenod College, Sacred Heart Primary School and St Brigid's College all stand to be unfairly prejudiced by the Gillard Labor government. The coalition of course supports a funding model that encourages private investment in non-governments schools and allows them to receive adequate support in real terms from government. Disappointingly, Labor has made no such commitment beyond 2013 when the current funding model is due to expire. For example, La Salle College in Middle Swan, which has a fantastic sporting and Indigenous student program, stands to lose more than $547,000 under Labor's plans. Then there is Mazenod College in Lesmurdie, which faces the loss of over $864,000. And $230,000 would disappear from Mary's Mount Primary School, while St Brigid's College will have more than $1 million slashed from its budget if the Gillard government gets its way.

Recently, I ran the Hasluck Leadership Awards, a non-partisan search for young leaders within our secondary public and private schooling systems. One of the two finalists came from St Brigid's College. Her family are not 'elite' as the Greens and Labor's left would describe them.

Mr Perrett: Rubbish!

Mr WYATT: This student is the child of hard-working people who have dedicated their resources to seeing their child receive the sort of education they have chosen for her. The member for Moreton would probab­ly have a number of constituents within his electorate who are facing the same problems. So I would hope that he would support funding that is of an equal nature to all students in his electorate. For her parents, that choice lies within the non-government schooling sector.

The Australian government should continue to support the right of parents to choose a school for their children that best reflects their values and beliefs and it should not penalise them for contributing financially to their children's' education. We have always encouraged people to make choices in many areas of life, and this equally applies to education. Imagine the strain that would be placed on the government system if hundreds of thousands of students with diverse talents, needs and requirements descended upon the government school sector if the non-government school sector collapsed in certain areas. The non-government schooling sector is invaluable in this regard. It takes a significant load off the public system.

This motion is not about criticising the government system. I have worked inside the government education sector as a teacher, as a district director and as a director of Aboriginal education, but I have equally worked with Catholic education and other non-government schooling sectors within Western Australia. I see the value of all sectors in providing educational pathways for our students. I believe that we should guarantee levels of funding, including CPI indexing, to enable those systems to continue to expand and provide the educational services that parents choose. Non-government schools by their very nature require significant funds from parents, and this is naturally supported by both sides of parliament. My own two sons went through public sector schooling, and their pathways were no different in choice nor quality of education from those in each of the various sectors.

I fully support the motion on behalf of the strong non-government schooling sector in my community of Hasluck and the hardworking parents who support it. Both need to be protected; both need to be funded. I support the motion. I want us to consider the educational needs of all children within the Australian society. (Time expired)