PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Mr LEESER (Berowra) (18:25): I move: That this House: (1) supports all schools, regardless of sector, and affirms its commitment to giving all Australian children a world class education regardless of whether they attend government, independent or Catholic schools; (2) recognises the vital contribution of independent, Catholic and other non-government schools to our education system, including through low-fee schools, regional and remote schools, special assistance schools, faith-based schools, boarding schools and schools supporting students with disability; (3) affirms that parents, not governments, know what is best for their children and acknowledges that parents choose schools because of the quality, values, opportunity, safety, and the individual needs of their children; (4) acknowledges that families make significant financial sacrifices to choose the school that is right for them, and affirms that these choices should be supported; (5) rejects divisive rhetoric that paints families who choose non-government schools as part of a privileged elite; (6) further affirms that Government funding is about funding for students, not institutions or sectors; (7) further recognises that Commonwealth school education programs should be sector-neutral and needs-based, rather than being restricted or designed around school sector; (8) notes the importance of funding certainty for schools and families, including beyond the expiry of the Choice and Affordability Fund in 2029, which supports non-government schools including independent and Catholic schools; (9) further rejects attempts to target non-government schools through special taxes and policy changes, and calls on the Victorian State Government in particular to wind back its divisive and damaging policies which are hurting families who choose non-government schools for their children; and (10) calls on the Government to: (a) ensure any future school funding arrangements support: (i) parent choice; (ii) affordability; (iii) regional and remote provision; (iv) students with disability; (v) special assistance schools; and (vi) schools serving disadvantaged communities; (b) protect parent choice; (c) treat students fairly; and (d) ensure school funding policy caters to the full diversity of schools that parents choose for their children.

Let me start with a simple statement of principle. School education is about children, not schools. On this side of the chamber, we believe that all Australian children deserve a world-class education.

I don't care whether that's in a government school, a Catholic school or an independent school. Australian children deserve a world-class education. Let me say to every Australian schoolchild's parent that, regardless of the school your child goes to, Australian parents deserve support from the federal government.

School funding is parents' money. It's money parents pay as taxpayers, and it should be used to support parents' choices about the way Australian parents choose to educate their children. School funding is about funding the education of all children, not particular sectors or institutions.

We on this side of the chamber know that parents, not governments, know what's best for their children. We know parents choose from a range of different options for their children: single sex or coeducational schools; comprehensive, selective or specialist schools; distance or flexible schooling; and government, non-government or faith based schooling. We know that parents choose schools for a whole range of reasons: where they live, the opportunities in their area, the individual child's needs, classroom safety and discipline, and religious faith or values.

Education policy should be about those choices. In my electorate of Berowra, 45 government schools educate nearly 21,000 students, 18 independent schools educate nearly 14,000 students, and eight Catholic schools educate nearly 4,000 students. Parents are making a variety of choices.

Let me say something more about the choices that Australian parents have been making nationally. In 1977 just 4.3 per cent of Australian students were enrolled in an independent school. By 1996 that number was at 9.73 per cent, in 2006 it was at 13.9 per cent, by 2016 it was 14.46 per cent, and today it is 17.2 per cent.

In fact, in the last 50 years the proportion of students educated in independent schools has increased almost every year. Catholic schools have consistently made up around 20 per cent of the sector at least since 1985. In the last 50 years, regardless of which side of politics was in power, every year more Australian parents chose to send their kids to independent schools.

Why? The story in our national data is that families are making deliberate choices around the way they educate their children. Choice is a good thing, and what these figures show is that parents will make financial sacrifices to choose the schooling option that is right for their family.

Again, those choices deserve our support. Let me say something particularly about religious schools. I think religious schools matter to Australia, and they're important to Australians.

They're important to the families they serve, to the communities they build to the country we want to be, to the moral conscience of the nation and to the coalition. Unlike Labor, we don't think that families who choose independent schools are part of a privileged or wealthy elite. Independent schools deserve praise for educating 22,538 Aboriginal students, 187,300 students with a disability and keeping fees across the sector on average at $6,060 a year.

Unlike Labor and the chattering classes on the Left, we know that religious schools are not cloistered enclaves, and I know that from a personal experience. Unlike Labor, we will not indulge the fantasies of the Law Reform Commission and its attempts to eat away at the fundamental character of religious schools. Unlike Labor, we will never devise hit lists which seek to diminish non-government school funding on the basis of the politics of envy.

Unlike Victorian Labor, we will never put a special tax on families sending their children to non-government schools to pay for Labor's out-of-control spending. Unlike the Minister for Education, I won't tell you I want one particular type of school to be parents' first choice. Instead, I want parents to have the widest choice possible.

I want great government schools, great Catholic schools and great independent schools, and I want whatever choice those families make to be a good choice. In this debate, you're going to hear from a range of Labor speakers. They'll trot out their tired old talking points that suffer from a truth deficit.

I want to save you some trouble. First, they'll tell a tall story about the coalition cutting education when we were last in office. ABC Fact Check has debunked this myth on multiple occasions.

Second, they'll say they've put every school on a path to full and fair funding. That wasn't true when they announced it, as they missed two of the six states, and it's not true today. There is still no funding agreement to lift the funding of Victorian public schools.

Third, they'll say that they're committed to education for all, but their record says otherwise. This budget shows a planned termination of the choice and affordability funding that supports parents who choose non-government schools. The truth is that only the coalition will stand up for the rights of all parents and all families.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Haines ): Is the motion seconded? Mr Birrell: Yes, I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.