❓ Dr. Buti questions Premier Barnett about a significant reduction in federal funding for WA schools under the Liberal government's new deal compared to Labor's previous offer. The Premier avoids a direct answer, instead attacking the Leader of the Opposition's past stance on the issue.
AnsweredQoN 908Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EDUCATION —
FEDERAL FUNDING
908. Dr A.D. BUTI to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Is it not the case under the
new deal that in the 2017 school year, instead of receiving the $80 million
under offer by Labor, the federal Liberal government is providing a paltry
$17.9 million to Western Australian schools?
FEDERAL FUNDING
908. Dr A.D. BUTI to the
Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Is it not the case under the
new deal that in the 2017 school year, instead of receiving the $80 million
under offer by Labor, the federal Liberal government is providing a paltry
$17.9 million to Western Australian schools?
AnswerView source ↗
Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition —
Dr
A.D. Buti : Answer the question.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am answering the question as I wish; I have not even
completed a sentence. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition claimed that he
did not, as opposition leader, support the initial offer made by Julia Gillard,
which was a paltry offer that gave Western Australia about $17 million.
Yesterday the member for Forrestfield read out two quotations, which showed
that the —
Point of Order
Dr A.D. BUTI : I raise a point of
order on relevance. My question was quite specific with regard to the paltry
$17.9 million on offer in 2017 under the Liberal government, compared with the
$80 million under offer by Labor. Regardless of what the member for
Forrestfield had to say, can the Premier answer my specific question?
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Yesterday the member for Forrestfield clearly showed that
what the Leader of the Opposition claimed in this house was patently wrong. He
read out two quotations —
Dr
A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order, member! Give the Premier a chance to answer your question. He is
entitled to put forward an answer.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Clearly, the Labor Party is a bit embarrassed because the Leader of the
Opposition denied that he supported the initial offer by then Prime Minister
Julia Gillard, yet the member for Forrestfield very quickly produced two
quotations.
Point of Order
Dr A.D. BUTI : I raise a point of
order again on the matter of relevance. My question is specific: is it not the case
under this new deal that in the 2017 school —
Mr
P.T. Miles interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time.
Dr A.D. BUTI : My
question was quite specific. Under the Liberal deal, in 2017 only $17.9 million
will be provided to Western Australian schools compared with $80 million under
offer by Labor. Can the Premier please answer my question?
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The member can ask what he likes and I can answer how
I like.
Dr A.D. Buti : No,
that is not how it works.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes I can; that is Parliament. Toughen up, member. A young bowler playing for
England in test cricket years ago asked his captain how he would like him to
bowl to Bradman. The captain said, ''You bowl them where you want, and
he will hit them where he wants.'' Parliament is much the same.
The SPEAKER : I want no more
interjections from the member for Armadale, and I would like the Premier to
give us a succinct answer.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to. The Leader of the Opposition was caught out
within the space of about 10 minutes when he demanded on radio and in one of
his own press releases that the government accept the paltry offer, the first
offer, by the Gillard government—he was caught out, dead stone. I would
not use the word that the member opposite uses when he calls me a blatant liar,
but how wrong was he? The Leader of the Opposition was shown to be misleading
this house within half an hour by the member for Forrestfield. He simply did
not tell the truth. The federal Labor Party's offers had a big caveat
of legislation that required us to hand over a large part of the administration
of each and every government school to Canberra, and Queensland and Western
Australia refused to be a part of that. Members opposite should not bother
trying to rewrite history.
Dr
A.D. Buti interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the first time. Can I
have a succinct answer from the Premier.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The opposition in this house was willing to accept the paltry
offer that would have given us $7 million for 2014. Under the Abbott
government, we have $31 million extra for the coming year, a significant
contribution to education. Under the Labor offers, all the money was pushed out
to the out years. We are actually getting more money next year and the
negotiations will go on, but the one thing we would not do in this house was
hand over control. Members opposite just gave it away. They gave away control
of our government schools to their mates in Canberra. I will always stand up
for Western Australia and not fly the white flag like the Leader of the
Opposition.
Dr
A.D. Buti : Answer the question.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am answering the question as I wish; I have not even
completed a sentence. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition claimed that he
did not, as opposition leader, support the initial offer made by Julia Gillard,
which was a paltry offer that gave Western Australia about $17 million.
Yesterday the member for Forrestfield read out two quotations, which showed
that the —
Point of Order
Dr A.D. BUTI : I raise a point of
order on relevance. My question was quite specific with regard to the paltry
$17.9 million on offer in 2017 under the Liberal government, compared with the
$80 million under offer by Labor. Regardless of what the member for
Forrestfield had to say, can the Premier answer my specific question?
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Yesterday the member for Forrestfield clearly showed that
what the Leader of the Opposition claimed in this house was patently wrong. He
read out two quotations —
Dr
A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order, member! Give the Premier a chance to answer your question. He is
entitled to put forward an answer.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Clearly, the Labor Party is a bit embarrassed because the Leader of the
Opposition denied that he supported the initial offer by then Prime Minister
Julia Gillard, yet the member for Forrestfield very quickly produced two
quotations.
Point of Order
Dr A.D. BUTI : I raise a point of
order again on the matter of relevance. My question is specific: is it not the case
under this new deal that in the 2017 school —
Mr
P.T. Miles interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time.
Dr A.D. BUTI : My
question was quite specific. Under the Liberal deal, in 2017 only $17.9 million
will be provided to Western Australian schools compared with $80 million under
offer by Labor. Can the Premier please answer my question?
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The member can ask what he likes and I can answer how
I like.
Dr A.D. Buti : No,
that is not how it works.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes I can; that is Parliament. Toughen up, member. A young bowler playing for
England in test cricket years ago asked his captain how he would like him to
bowl to Bradman. The captain said, ''You bowl them where you want, and
he will hit them where he wants.'' Parliament is much the same.
The SPEAKER : I want no more
interjections from the member for Armadale, and I would like the Premier to
give us a succinct answer.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to. The Leader of the Opposition was caught out
within the space of about 10 minutes when he demanded on radio and in one of
his own press releases that the government accept the paltry offer, the first
offer, by the Gillard government—he was caught out, dead stone. I would
not use the word that the member opposite uses when he calls me a blatant liar,
but how wrong was he? The Leader of the Opposition was shown to be misleading
this house within half an hour by the member for Forrestfield. He simply did
not tell the truth. The federal Labor Party's offers had a big caveat
of legislation that required us to hand over a large part of the administration
of each and every government school to Canberra, and Queensland and Western
Australia refused to be a part of that. Members opposite should not bother
trying to rewrite history.
Dr
A.D. Buti interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the first time. Can I
have a succinct answer from the Premier.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The opposition in this house was willing to accept the paltry
offer that would have given us $7 million for 2014. Under the Abbott
government, we have $31 million extra for the coming year, a significant
contribution to education. Under the Labor offers, all the money was pushed out
to the out years. We are actually getting more money next year and the
negotiations will go on, but the one thing we would not do in this house was
hand over control. Members opposite just gave it away. They gave away control
of our government schools to their mates in Canberra. I will always stand up
for Western Australia and not fly the white flag like the Leader of the
Opposition.
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