PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Mr REBELLO (McPherson) (18:55): It gives me great pleasure to support this motion on school education programs moved by my friend and colleague the member for Berowra. And I'd like to say at the outset that this motion, at its core, is about one thing. It's about trusting parents and giving every child a fair chance.

In the contributions by some of those opposite, including the member for Spence, there was an insinuation that those on this side do not support strong public school systems. I want to categorically reject that. That is not what this motion is about.

For those who think it is, I suggest they read the wording of the motion again. All of us on this side of the House have a number of state schools in our electorates, and we see the issues, we see the opportunities for further funding in those state schools and we would support state schools being adequately funded. But what this motion is not—and I give credit to the member for Monash, who pointed this out—is a debate about one versus the other.

It's a debate about how we can make sure all Australian students who are going to public and non-public schools are supported, and it's about supporting choice. I speak in this place as the product of both public and private education in Australia. I also speak from the vantage point of being the federal MP of an electorate that has the second largest number of non-government schools.

So this is not a distant policy debate for my community, because these schools matter and the families who choose them deserve fairness; they don't deserve judgement. This motion is about backing every child in every school. And we absolutely reject the divisive rhetoric—and we've seen some of it today—that paints families who choose non-government schools as part of a privileged elite.

That is something we totally reject, because government, Catholic, independent, faith based, regional and remote, boarding, special assistance and low-fee schools all play a pivotal role in our communities and in the education of the next generation. Parents should be trusted and supported to choose the school they want to send their children to, because, at the end of the day, parents know their kids best.

Families choose schools for a whole variety of reasons: values, safety, faith, disability support, academic needs, boarding, location, culture, discipline and opportunity. And those are deeply personal decisions. They should be respected, not judged by government.

I say it is wrong to paint families who choose non-government schools as privileged elite. What some of those opposite don't understand and what they have failed to point out is the fact that it hasn't always been easy for those families to make those decisions. In many instances that choice is backed up by real sacrifice by families who have taken extra shifts, had fewer holidays, lived in smaller homes, received help from grandparents and been careful with their budgeting.

So we have to be careful in this place not to mistake sacrifice for privilege, because, for most families, choosing a non-government school is not a status symbol; it's a stretch in the family budget because they believe it's the right thing for their child. That is something we should support. I also say to those opposite that these are individuals who pay taxes.

Their children are Australian school students, and they shouldn't be punished for making a lawful and legitimate choice. That's the essence of where this motion is going. A child should not be disadvantaged because their parents choose a school system outside the government system.

I'd also like to touch on the point of the value of non-government schools to our schooling system more broadly. If non-government schools are made unaffordable, the pressure doesn't disappear; it falls back onto the government school system, and those opposite have admitted that that system is already under strain. Schools need funding certainty, and that's another point that this motion goes to.

I've had the opportunity to meet with many of the roughly 45 schools in my electorate, and one of the consistent messages that I get from some of the school principals is that they get funding announcements towards the end of the year, which means, when you're a non-government school and you're reliant on fees in many instances, it's very difficult for them to change the way they go about their fee structures, which practically puts them in a very disadvantaged position.

I'll finish where I started in saying that, at its heart, this motion is about trusting parents and treating every student fairly. I commend the member for Berowra for bringing this important issue to this place, but that's ultimately why this motion matters. Every parent should be supported to choose the education that's right for their child.