Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Education and Training) (14:44): No, because, as I outlined to the Senate previously, there is record support going to Australian schools at present—record support which will continue to grow year on year on year into the future. Those opposite can try to run scare campaigns if they want, but the facts speak for themselves: that support for schools is at record levels and growing year upon year upon year. Those opposite also seem to ignore the fact that funding should be treated as a means to an end. They have confused funding as being the end in itself. They think that just promising funding is the answer to education challenges in Australia. But the data shows that, collectively, federal and state governments have been spending record sums on Australian schools over the years and that it has more than doubled in terms of state and federal government spending since 1988. What has happened in that time? What has happened is that Australian outcomes, in terms of literacy standards, numeracy standards and science testing have gone backwards—gone backwards in real terms and gone backwards in relative terms compared to other countries. Senator Jacinta Collins: Yes, that's why we had Gonski. That's why we went through the Gonski review. Senator BIRMINGHAM: So I know Senator Collins does not understand this, but record funding going in has not provided extra beneficial outcomes. Record funding has not delivered beneficial outcomes. We have seen the system go backwards, which is why our government has sought to make sure that policy in this area focuses on how we lift the quality of teachers, on how we get parents more engaged, on how we get the national curriculum right and on how we deliver autonomy to schools so that they can make sure, for their local area, that they are able to use the dollars they have—the record funding they have—as effectively as possible for their students.