Senator ELLISON (Special Minister of State) (4:39 PM) —Simply for the record, the government believes that the requests should not be pressed and that the bill we are dealing with that these requests relate to simplifies administrative arrangements for funding for students with disabilities. It removes the current arbitrary differences in funding for primary and secondary students and it removes the inequitable differences in allocations under current arrangements where the most disadvantaged non-government schools receive no additional funds for students with disabilities. The amendments require additional funding, which Labor proposes to obtain by taking out of the general recurrent grants for some non-government schools. The government cannot accept any amendment that will remove funding from schools. There is no cut in funding for students with disabilities in government secondary schools. State governments will receive the same amount of special education funding as they do now. The bill resolves the inequitable differences in allocations under the current arrangements for the most disadvantaged non-government schools that receive no additional funds for students with disabilities. Under the former ERI system, category 12 schools with students with a disability did not get one additional dollar. By providing a flat per capita rate to all schools, this bill will grant an extra $527 for each student in such non-government schools.

The proposal in the legislation for the creation of a list of schools which were excluded from the SES funding arrangements could mean that, in future, other schools, not necessarily category 1 schools, could be added to this list with little or no justification. The opposition cannot stand behind these amendments on the basis that certain schools should be categorised according to a blatantly broken ERI system while others can access the new SES arrangements. The anomaly of the opposition's position is that former category 1 schools such as Mentone Grammar School in Victoria, with an SES score of 110, would have its funding frozen. However, former category 2 schools such as Meriden School in New South Wales, with an SES score of 110, would receive a $3 million increase. The Penbank School, a former category 6 school with an SES of 110, would receive an extra $418 per student in 2004.

We have here a situation where the government has outlined legislation that it believes provides a fairer form of funding. But, importantly, we do have a time problem with the passage of this legislation. I can say that, by pressing these requests, this legislation could be held up. We need to pass this legislation as soon as possible so that agreements can be put in place in relation to funding. The government has received an overwhelming amount of correspondence, communication and lobbying in relation to the passage of this bill—that it be passed. The government maintains its previous position on this, and it believes that the request should not be pressed.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Senator Watson)—The question is that the requests for amendments not be pressed.

Question resolved in the negative.

Resolution reported; report adopted.