More than $9.1 billion will be delivered to improve education in Queensland in the Palaszczuk Government’s 2016-17 State Budget.

Education Minister Kate Jones (pictured) said this year’s Budget would continue to drive reforms to senior assessment and invest in school infrastructure to cater for enrolment growth.

Ms Jones said the Palaszczuk Government would invest $72 million over four years to continue developing new senior assessment systems for students who enter Year 11 from 2018.

“$24 million will be invested in 2016-17 to help prepare for the change as part of a record investment in Queensland education under the State Budget,” she said.

“This funding will support the replacement of current senior assessment systems that have been in place for more than 20 years.

“New senior assessment arrangements will combine the advantages of school-based assessment, developed and marked by classroom teachers, with external assessment set and marked by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority.”

Ms Jones said the Budget delivered $667 million in 2016-17 for school infrastructure including $475 million for capital works and $192 million for maintenance.

“Our $475 million capital works investment will include $79 million to start construction of new state primary schools in Caloundra South, Coomera, Yarrabilba in Logan, and Burdell in north-west Townsville.

“It also includes $21.4 million to complete the new special school currently under construction in Cairns.”

Ms Jones said $192 million would be spent on maintenance in 2016-17.

“The infrastructure investment funding includes $73 million for the School Infrastructure Enhancement Program to deliver modern and functional learning environments through maintenance and renewal initiatives” she said.

Ms Jones said a further $43 million would be invested supporting universal access to kindergarten for Queensland children.

The Federal Labor Opposition has announced that it will rollout ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ to up to two million additional Australian homes and businesses.

According to Labor, the Coalition Government has doubled the cost of their ‘second rate’ National Broadband Network (NBN) up to $56 billion. In response, a Shorten Labor Government will cap the total funding for the NBN at $57 billion.

Labor will spend exactly the same amount of public funding on the NBN as the Liberals and claim that there will be no impact on the budget from this announcement.

Under Labor’s plan, the public equity contribution will be the same regardless of who wins the election. The difference, however, is that up to two million more Australians will get a ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ NBN under Labor.

Also under Labor, the much criticised rollout of Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘second rate’ copper NBN— ‘Fibre-to-the-Node’ —will be phased out. Construction of ‘Fibre-to-the-Node’ will cease when the current pipeline of construction work is completed and design and construction of ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ is scaled back up.

Labor has also announced that it commission Infrastructure Australia, with input from relevant experts, to manage the development of a plan that outlines how and when the parts of Australia left with Mr Turnbull’s NBN should be transitioned to ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’. This will be commissioned in the first term of a Shorten Labor Government.

Labor believes it can complete the initial rollout of the NBN by 30 June 2022, the same time the Liberals’ lesser quality NBN is likely to be complete.

The Federal Opposition has been very critical of the Coalition Government, claiming that Malcolm Turnbull has ‘made a mess of the NBN’. For example, according to Labor, in the last three years:

• The cost of his second rate NBN has nearly doubled.
• The time it will take to build has more than doubled.
• Australia has dropped from 30th in the world for internet speeds to 60th.
• Malcolm Turnbull promised he could build a second rate copper NBN for $29.5 billion. This has now blown out to up to $56 billion.

Labor has reminded voters that Mr Turnbull that Australia would have access to the NBN this year. However, less than 20 per cent of Australians have access to the NBN—a long way short of the 100 per cent promised.

To compound the problem, Australians are now getting a ‘slower, second rate copper NBN’ that will not meet their needs into the future.

For more information on Labor’s plan to build the NBN Australia needs please visit http://www.100positivepolicies.org.au/build_the_national_broadband_network_australia_needs