Mr BROAD (Mallee—Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) (15:45): It is nice on a Thursday afternoon to hear a level of discussion rather than a level of argument about the very important role of the education of our children. I want to go back to first principles and the role of the federal government. The first role of the federal government is the security of its Australian people—our defence. The second role of the federal government is to create an economy that rewards endeavour and rewards risk. Those who get out of bed should make more money than those who sleep in. There is only one side of this chamber that will manage an economy adequately and responsibly, and that is the coalition government When we talk about what is in the best interests of our children, we do not serve our children well if we simply leave them with a debt because we haven't been prepared to make hard decisions in our generation and our lifetime. When it comes to ensuring that we manage our economy this is something that our government does very well. We need to make sure that when we think about how we spend things we spend them wisely. Mr Deputy Speaker Hogan, you would know, as a former teacher yourself, that it isn't necessarily always how much money you throw at a problem that gets you the best outcome. The Australian government has a role in creating that economy, and that economy simply gives us the engine room to build the society we want to have. What is it that makes a great society? I want to touch on this. A great society is a society that looks after the unwell, our senior Australians and those who might be having some difficulties with their health. A great society is one that looks after domestic policing, law and order. People should feel safe in their own homes. That's a very critical issue in the Victorian election coming up, where many Victorians no longer feel safe in their own homes thanks to the failure of the Andrews government. A great society is also one that builds our public transport, our roads and our rail network. And a great society is one that invests in its children. Something that I have been very keen to support, which was a Labor government initiative, is the Commonwealth top-up of the 15 hours for four-year-old child care, kindergarten— Ms Lamb: Early childhood education— Mr BROAD: That's the word for it! I supported it. It was a good initiative. Thank you, member for Longman. it is good you are listening. The New South Wales government has introduced six hours for three-year-old kinder. I think that's very good. I'd like to see that introduced in Victoria. In Victoria they do have that for foster children, and as a foster dad I can see the value in that. I was never a great student—I was a tradie—but I was reasonably good at my maths, and I always thought that if you have a figure and you have a greater figure on the other side that is an increase. Tell me if I'm wrong, but if— Mr Champion: Are you assistant minister now? Mr BROAD: I know, they let anyone in here, don't they! But listen to this: if you have a figure and then you get a bit more, that is an increase; it's not a decrease. I will run through Edenhope, in the electorate of Mallee: $631,000 and the following year $674,000: an increase of $43,700. In the school in Stawell: $1,300,000 next year and $1,397,000 on top of that. There are 129 schools in the electorate of Mallee—there wouldn't be many electorates with as many schools as mine—and every single one of them got an increase under our government. That is what it's all about. Our principals will look at the figures and they will see that the school funding has increased. It hasn't decreased; it has increased. That is the first rule of mathematics: if you have a figure and you drastically increase it, you actually do get more. Some of my students are $800 a year better off than they were the year before. Mr Champion: What's inflation doing? Mr BROAD: Inflation is at 2½ per cent, my friend. It is not at $800. There is something else we must be doing: we must be looking after our students when it comes to having breakfast programs. That is something this government is really starting to think about. People who come to a school in the electorate of Mallee are better off. They're getting more funding. We had a constructive discussion till that bloke, the member for Wakefield, came along, and he's just blown it out of the water. We are delivering more money for the students in the electorate of Mallee. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Hogan ): Before I call the member for Moreton, I will remind the member for Wakefield: we'd been having a lovely MPI, member for Wakefield, before you arrived. It was quite peaceful. On that note, you are warned, member for Wakefield. I call the member for Moreton.