Page 1752 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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Catholic Schools Week. Yes, we understand that they aren’t funded to the same level as the government sector. And yes, we will make those representations that you asked for.” That would be a minister interested in equity, that would be a Greens party interested in equity and that would be a unanimous view then from this Assembly. But we will not get that unanimous view today, and it is unfortunate that it is that way.
Mr Barr quoted figures—the old “lies, damned lies and statistics” line. He said, “Yes, it was $29 million worth of assistance and now it’s over $50 million; haven’t we done well?” But what is it as a percentage of the education budget? My understanding is that the percentage of change has not gone up at all. It is still at roughly the same percentage that it was 10 years ago. With respect to somehow trying to gloss this by saying, “Yes, we’ve put in more money,” we know you have put in more money. The budget has doubled, as the Treasurer told us this morning. The budget has doubled in the last 10 years.
Based on that, $30 million to $50 million is not doubling, so perhaps in real terms the government’s contribution to the Catholic sector of education in this city may have gone back. I do not know because the minister does not present the full figure. The minister might like to go away; we will give him leave to speak again to tell us what the percentage has done and what the real terms growth is against all the factors.
But he picks these two numbers and says: “Look, aren’t we good? It’s gone up $20 million.” What percentage growth has there been in the Catholic school population in the last 10 years? We know that, throughout the first decade of this century, there was a flood out of the government system. Despite the best endeavours of the minister to say that that flood has been arrested, it may have been slowed but it certainly has not been arrested.
Mr Doszpot: Under Labor there has been, yes.
MR SMYTH: Under Labor, the flood has occurred. But present the full picture. How much did the Catholic sector grow in terms of numbers? What is the budget allocation per student et cetera? It is very easy to quote a raw number. We are used to that from this minister. You get the number that suits him, instead of him taking his job seriously.
I am not surprised that the Greens will be supporting the amendment. They say the words but they actually do not believe in the Catholic education sector. Yet we hear the words: “We’ve been. We’ve seen the programs at Eddie’s for dance. Good on you.” I proudly say that the programs for dance for boys started at Marist probably a decade before St Edmund’s got there. Each of the schools that we have, whether they are in the government, the independent or the—
Mr Seselja: Really? I didn’t know Marist was good at dancing.
MR SMYTH: Yes, Marist is good at dancing. Jan Carey, who used to run SIDS and Kids here, ran dance programs at Marist probably 20 years ago.
Ms Gallagher: Didn’t you go to Marist?
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