Thursday, 5 October 2023

Ministers statements: education policy

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:24): Education policy under the Allan Labor government will be based around one key idea, one key theme, and that is that every Victorian deserves a quality education irrespective of their postcode and irrespective of their socio-economic status.

On this side of the house, education is in our DNA. On that side of the house, they think it is just something nice to do – a bit like ‘Martin Dixon was a nice guy, so we’ll give him the education portfolio’. We believe in making sure that everyone has the right to a great education, and already we are seeing the results. We have built more schools than any other state in Australia. Victorian kids are top of their class thanks to the NAPLAN results that have just come in. Another great KPI: 15- to 19-year-olds are staying in school in Victoria for longer than the national average. We are growing the number of teachers in our state, twice the national average, and we are not done yet. The Allan Labor government is building 100 new schools and 50 government-owned childcare centres. We know about our free kinder reform and mental health and disability inclusion.

Already this week it has been a pleasure to meet up with Jason Clare, the federal education minister, as well as Meredith Peace from the AEU. Tomorrow in Hobart the education ministers will come together. We will be able to discuss what we are doing with the National School Reform Agreement. I had the great pleasure yesterday to meet up with Dr Lisa O’Brien, who is heading up that reform agreement to make sure we do everything we can to keep building the Education State. We know that under our leadership and the leadership of Jacinta Allan this state will continue to go on and on. You only have to pick up the Age today, where they talk about the Education State. The journalist Shaun Carney I thought hit the nail right on the head: ‘Liberals are lost in a fantasy land’.