Senators David Leyonhjelm and Pauline Hanson have shown that they’re not up to taking part in a constructive discussion around reforming Australia’s childcare sector with ill-informed comments equating early childhood education with ‘wiping noses’, the Australian Greens have said.

“Senator Leyonhjelm clearly has no understanding of the early childhood education sector or the needs of Australian parents,” the Greens’ education spokesperson, Senator Hanson-Young said.

Australian Greens Finance and Youth spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has slammed the Turnbull government for its inaction in bridging the generation gap in today’s MYEFO.
 
“The Turnbull government has done nothing today to tackle looming generational inequality,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
 
"With budget cuts to services and little to tackle slow wage growth or housing affordability, young Australians remain the big losers under this Government. 
 

The Australian Greens have expressed fears for the future of public education after it was revealed today many Adelaide high schools are struggling to pay the bills.

“If South Australian high schools have to cut courses and teaching staff to keep their buildings up to scratch, something is very wrong with the way schools are funded. What is happening in Adelaide is telling of the scarcity of funding across the board for Australian schools,” Greens education spokesperson Senator Hanson-Young said.

The Senate has given recognition to the importance of the Australian arts industry and community by supporting greater representation to artistic and creative courses on the VET student loans eligible course list following an amendment to the VET Student Loans Bill moved by the Australian Greens.

Targeting university students and increasing their debt is not the answer to the long term sustainability of Australia’s higher education sector, the Australian Greens have said in response to a Grattan Institute report.

“The Turnbull government want to take an axe to higher education funding and they shouldn’t look to increasing student debt to make up any shortfall,” the Greens’ education spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Labor’s refusal to reduce the amount  of money going to overfunded private schools and reinvest it into the public schools that need it most is putting true needs based funding at risk, the Australian Greens have said.

“Labor’s obsession with defending the fistfuls of cash going to private schools is threatening to derail any chance we have at achieving genuine needs based funding for all Australian students,” the Greens’ education spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Any overhaul of schools funding must result in a genuine ‘needs based’ model, the Australian Greens have said, pointing out that some wealthy, overfunded private schools will need to have their funding reduced so that struggling public schools can get ahead.

“Yes, some schools are overfunded and yes, that funding should be clawed back,” the Greens’ education spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“Public funding is precious and it needs to be spent on giving all young Australians access to a high quality public education.

The Australian Greens have announced that they will move an amendment to the government’s Vocational Education and Training bill in the Senate to support arts and creative industries in Australia.

“Cleaning up the dodgy rorting in the VET sector should not come at the cost of arts courses and education providers that were doing the right thing,” the Greens’ Education and Arts spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“Our creative industries employ thousands of people across Australia and help to build the social fabric of our community.

The Greens have secured support from the government to establish a Vocational Education and Training Ombudsman who will help to protect vulnerable students from exploitation, the party’s education spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said.

“I welcome the announcement that the VET sector will finally be getting the Ombudsman that it so badly needs,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“This is an important win that will help to protect vulnerable students from exploitation in the future.

The end of public money handouts to for-profit private providers should be at the centre of any Vocational Education and Training sector reforms, the Australian Greens have said.

“The rampant rorting of the VET system is one of the most extraordinary and damning examples of failed privatisation that Australia has ever seen,” the Greens’ education spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“Public money should not be given to private, for-profit education providers and should instead be invested in the struggling TAFE system.