Mrs SUDMALIS (Gilmore) (16:09): I sometimes wonder just what the opposition go on about with their education cuts. I can say the following with a high level of relevance because I was a secondary science teacher for 10 years. Under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd successive governments we saw huge investment in education—well, at least that was the public perception. The halls, especially in state funded schools, were built according to a formula by an urban-based construction company that had no ability to leverage local subcontractors. They had much higher contract prices anyway. They were beaten hands-down by the private school sector because they could do both parts to gain a much better bang for their buck. Then there was the universal distribution of the class sets of laptops for a school. There was no budget for repairs, replacements or stolen items. The result was a storeroom filled with outmoded and unrepaired laptops. But, worse still, in order to change the youth unemployment level back in 2010-11 any child up to the age of 17 had to remain at school. I was a teacher trainer at the time and I can tell you the devastating effect that that had in the classes to the teachers, the students who wanted to learn and the students who hated to be there. Today this so-called matter of importance is trying to present that the Australian government is failing schools. I really feel sad when education is used as a political football, and so do the parents and the teachers. Much has been made of the Gonski model of funding, even to the point of giving the term the status of being a noun—like 'I give a Gonski'. But when you ask them what that actually means you rarely get an answer. The most important element of Australian education is not this word 'Gonski'; it is the concept of needs-based funding where local schools with specific needs gain sufficient funding to give the best opportunities to the greatest number of students—those with a disability, those with cultural disadvantage and those with an economic disadvantage. This is not a system designed for an equal outcome for every child. While in utopia that would be brilliant, we on this side of the House live in the real world. While we are referring to the real world, I wish the opposition would stop talking about mythical money being taken from education. Labor in its amazing marketing—and I wish I had had that when I was a fudge manufacturer— Opposition members interjecting— Mrs SUDMALIS: There were cuts coming out of it. But I only marketed honestly. The Gonski funding model was a proposal of funding for six years. It was not even published in the forward estimates. When Labor was in government the first four years of the plan were well funded, and we have matched it dollar for dollar—in fact, we have actually added to that funding. We all know this. This is a bit like the story of the goose and the golden egg. It is time for us to realise that all we have is the goose—actually we have got lots of them and they are sitting over there. The funding dollars have so far made incredible differences in our local schools and not a single dollar is to be cut from those allocations that are currently with our schools. There have been programs of literacy, numeracy, coding, robotics and one-on-one teaching. This has made a huge difference and—I must keep repeating this—the current investment will continue, with an extra $73.6 billion in the forward estimates over the next four years. That is a 26.5 per cent increase. It is time to make sure the funding formula place it exactly where it is needed, and it is happening. Kiama Public School, Berry Public School, Terara, Sanctuary Point, Ulladulla and Milton, just to name a few, all have developed a program of improvements for their students and they will continue under the current model. Chucking undirected dollars into a school is not going to change the outcomes. Mentoring, teacher training and respecting the profession of education are the essential first ingredients. Just stop pushing as many students as possible to university. It is not the panacea for our future. Our tradies and skills are the missing link in our school-to-work system. Support those students who wish to enter a trade. It is no less important than a degree and for some students it is a far better choice. My local teachers are talking about other related issues that affect education. We need to listen to them because their views are straight from the children around them—like the breakfast programs, after-school care and growing their own food in the garden for the canteen. That is what we need to listen to. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Coulton ): The discussion has now concluded.