Senator CARR (11:31 AM) —Given that there has been a decline in funding in real terms for government schools, would there not be a correlation between the decline in public support by this government and the decline in retention rates of students? I notice that there has been, as I say, a significant decline, given the number of students leaving school early. That has come from a high of a 77 per cent retention rate in 1991 down to—and these figures are slightly different from the ones that DETYA has produced—71.8 per cent in 1997. I understand the figure has been given by DETYA as 72 per cent in 1998, but my understanding is that the later figures demonstrate a continuing decline in the numbers of students completing school.

I understand the retention rates are well below the national average in a number of states; that just 66 per cent of male students are completing school at year 12, which compares with 78 per cent for females; and that the retention rate is down to 66 per cent in the government school sector compared with 84 per cent in the non-government school sector. Is it the case, Minister, that the figures that I have indicated to you can be confirmed? Would you also be able to advise me whether or not these are well below the international education benchmarks and whether Australia lags behind many other OECD countries in terms of the overall level of educational attainment, not just for persons under the age of 21 but for the adult population at large?

Given that is the case, what is the impact that the declining level of public support, as a result of cuts to government expenditure in real terms to public schools, has had on those figures? Would the minister agree that there are substantial costs to this country as a result of early school leaving? Would he concur that early school leavers do not enjoy a number of the benefits that those who complete their schooling do? Would he concur that there is a massive cost to individuals in terms of decreased opportunities for job mobility and training, lower levels of personal health, decreased financial security and of course lower levels of non-wage benefits?

Would he concur that for the country this has very serious impacts in terms of decreased social cohesion, higher costs associated with health care, higher costs associated with crime prevention and higher costs associated with various social security measures? So I would ask: Minister, would you further agree that, because of our low levels of secondary school completion, Australia has been placed at a severe disadvantage when compared with our international competitors and that the decline of one year's early school leaving, as the Dusseldorp Skills Forum has recently re vealed, has an overall cost to this country of some $2.6 billion?

I understand that these may not be questions that the minister has responses to immediately, but I do seek from the government a response to these propositions. I would also ask: is it reasonable to conclude that costs of that magnitude are involved in the decline in retention rates? Further, is this not a direct consequence of the failure of government to meet its responsibilities to ensure that there are growing levels of support for schooling in this country? Minister, I ask you about those points at this stage and I will move on to another issue in a moment.