Christine Milne answered questions from the press after her speech to the Australian Education Union National Conference
For the transcript of the speech please follow this link to our website: http://greensmps.org.au/content/transcripts/address-aeu-national-conference
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CHRISTINE MILNE: I've asked Senator Penny Wright to join me today at the big conference here of the Australian Education Union. This is a critical issue for the Greens between now and the election. The Government has really squandered the opportunity of two terms of government to bring in the reform to schools funding that we desperately need. The Gonski review was a big breakthrough but they've been sitting on that for quite some time now and the real challenge is - when are we going to see the funding model brought in, the legislation brought in? We only have a few weeks of Parliament left; the Greens stand ready to pass those Gonski reforms as soon as we can. In fact we want the full Gonski and we want it fast-tracked.
We are going to move an amendment saying that we want additional funding raised and additional funding going to the most disadvantaged public schools as a priority. But if the Government doesn't pass that amendment, and the Coalition certainly won't, they won't support putting money into disadvantaged schools. If the Government doesn't, well that's a reflection of where the Government's priorities are. We will pass that bill because we are determined that before September 14 there will be a new funding model in Australian education, it will be fair and equitable and it will start to address the big gap between the levels of disadvantage in public education that really we desperately need to fill.
JOURNALIST: What do you make of the fact that Julia Gillard said here earlier today that you are joining with Tony Abbott in saying that (inaudible).
CHRISTINE MILNE: Well it's simply wrong. The Prime Minister's completely and utterly wrong. The Greens have been driving the Government to do something about Gonski for some time, to do something about funding public education. We have stood up time and time again asking that that be done. At the end of last year I challenged Peter Garrett to bring the legislation in before the end of 2012. Let's deal with it. Let's pass it before we move into an election year. He didn't do that. They are dithering with the last chance we've got before the election to bring in a fair and equitable funding model. If they don't they are risking Tony Abbott proceeding with an inequitable model and staying with what we've got now. Now that is just not fair. I'm not prepared to stand by and let the Government make education funding an at-risk proposition. It is not an at-risk proposition for the Greens, we are ready to pass this. Bring it on - full Gonski, fast tracked. The Prime Minister is wrong to suggest the Greens have any other agenda than that
JOURNALIST: Are you accusing them of deliberate delaying tactics?
CHRISTINE MILNE: Whether it's deliberate, whether it's incompetent, whether it's cynical political strategy to try and drive it right up to the election to make it an at-risk proposition, who knows. What I know though is Labor has been in government since 2007. The Prime Minister herself was the Education Minister in 2007 and delayed, and delayed, bringing on the changes to funding. So they have dithered for all these years. A child who started high school when Labor got into power will have left year 12 by now. We cannot afford any further delay. It would be totally responsible to go to this election having not legislated a fairer and more equitable funding model that gives all kids in Australia a fair go. Surely the Parliament can do that before we rise and then if there is an Abbott Government elected, the Greens will be the bulwark in the Senate that stops and them repealing a fair funding model.
JOURNALIST: Christine can I ask you what your reaction is to the way the Australian Olympic swimming team has been treated today?
CHRISTINE MILNE: Oh look I really think there are some serious issues in sports culture in Australia and I think the community will be very disappointed and the community is just losing trust in elite athletes across the whole gamut of sports. We of course want to support our athletes but we are worried about the culture in sport and if indeed the swimmers concerned have breached the Australian swimming code and rules then they will be dealt with accordingly but I think we have a bigger picture issue here to discuss and that is to go back to thinking about what it is we want from our sportsmen and women and surely we want greater participation, greater joy by the whole community in sport generally.
JOURNALIS: Do you think these individuals have been hung out to dry?
CHRISTINE MILNE: As I said I would like to have this looked at big picture, as a cultural issue. If people have breached the rules then clearly they will be held to account for that but I think we need to see the bigger picture and have a conversation in Australia about what kind of pressure we are putting on our elite athletes and also whether this is the road we want to go down and how we as a community are going to change it because after all they are a function of the way that we run sport.
JOURNALIST: Why did you link funding Gonski to the mining tax?
CHRISRTINE MILNE: The Greens have never linked the passage of the Gonski legislation to anything. We've said that we are not prepared to put the lives and the future of Australian kids on the line in terms of jeopardising that in any shape or form. What I have said though is that it is wrong to see this rolled out until 2020 before we get the full benefit. What we should be doing is raising money from the mining tax in order to use additional funds to go into our most disadvantaged schools first. That is the amendment the Greens will be moving. Let's raise the money, let's get those funds into education now, to the most disadvantaged now, not leave it until the end of the decade.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed the PM didn't stick around?
CHRISTINE MILNE: Well I'm really disappointed that the Prime Minister didn't spell out to the whole of the Australian community, particularly the teaching community, exactly the timetable for when we're going to get this legislation. Because we only have a few more weeks of sitting. She pointed to COAG but we have to get the legislation through the Parliament. That means we have to have passed it through both houses by the end of June. We are running out of time. And this is a narrow window of opportunity to actually put money into Australia's most disadvantaged schools. We need to get on with it and I'm disappointed that the Prime Minister did not spell out the legislative timetable so that we can all get behind it, lobby for it and make sure it happens.
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