CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr GORMAN (Perth—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service and Assistant Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (16:03): Twenty-two thousand, five hundred and twenty-nine—that's how many people in my electorate of Perth have an outstanding Higher Education Loan Program debt. Those 22,529 people in my electorate are looking closely at what happens in this building this week.

If we make the right decisions, as the House did earlier today, their debt will be cut by 20 per cent. That means less debt and more money in their pockets so they can earn more and keep more of what they earn. It's part of our comprehensive plan to invest more in the education that Australians so deeply value.

If you look at the 19,834 early childhood educators across Western Australia, they are able to benefit from our government's 15 per cent increase in early childhood educators wages, making sure they can pay down student debt, if they have one, and also earn a little bit more. We know that across WA some 92,830 families are currently accessing education and will be better off as a result of our government's investment in the three-day guarantee and the legislation we're putting through parliament this week to make sure our early childhood education services can be as safe as it can possibly be.

When it comes to investing in the skills we need for the future, we have 95,365 Western Australians accessing life-changing qualifications through our fee-free TAFE program that we're implementing in partnership with the Cook government. But that's not all we're doing in partnership. We also had the Prime Minister in my electorate last year, at Mount Lawley Senior High School, signing an agreement for the better-schools deal—an extra $800 million into Western Australia, and the $800 million is tied to serious reforms: increasing small-group tutoring; year 1 phonics and early numeracy checks; more individualised support for students; greater mental health resources in our primary and secondary schools; and improved measures to maintain and attract teachers into the profession.

I am proudly the son of two primary-school teachers. I know that we get such good value when we invest in our education, and later this year we'll be there cutting the ribbon on the Edith Cowan University campus in the heart of my electorate, at Yagan Square in Perth. That will mean that thousands of Western Australians will have access to one of the best university campuses that has ever been built anywhere in this country.

I'm really proud of what we're doing to invest in education in my electorate of Perth, across Western Australia and across Australia.