PARLIAMENT, CANBERRA: I rise to express my concern in relation to Catholic school funding and the direction in which the government is likely to be taking the school funding regime post the expiration of the existing Schools Assistance Act. I am particularly concerned about the Catholic schools which are deemed to be ‘funding maintained’. This…
Federal Member for Aston, Alan Tudge MP, has spoken in the Parliament voicing his deep concern for eight Catholic schools in his electorate, who are at risk of having their funding reduced following the Federal Government’s review of school funding. These are the schools that are presently “funding maintained”. Funding maintained schools are those schools…
PARLIAMENT, CANBERRA: This week is National Volunteers Week. And there is no better time than this week to highlight the role of volunteers in our community and to say thank you. Volunteers are the glue that holds together our civil society. Australian volunteers contribute more than 700 million hours of community service. Over 5.4 million…
PARLIAMENT, CANBERRA: I rise to speak on and support the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Job Seeker Compliance) Bill 2011. The bill in question will enhance the current job seeker compliance framework by providing additional incentives for job seekers to engage with their employment service providers and to participate fully in activities designed to improve their…
PARLIAMENT, CANBERRA: I rise to speak on the Corporations Amendment (Improving Accountability on Director and Executive Remuneration) Bill 2011. As you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker, this bill arises out of the recommendations of the Productivity Commission report into executive remuneration. It reported on 4 January 2010, and this bill aims to implement its…
PARLIAMENT, CANBERRA: I also rise to support the condolence motion for the late Mr Lionel Rose, and I would like to associate myself with some of the comments of the previous speakers, including Mr Hunt and Mr Broadbent, who I have just listened to here. I am sorry I did not get to hear some…
PUBLISHED IN THE ‘ROWVILLE-LYSTERFIELD COMMUNITY NEWS’. “If we can prevent just one suicide, it will be worth all of our effort.” This was the powerful message of Pauline Renzow at the Youth Mental Health Public Forum earlier this month. A participant at the Forum, this courageous Rowville resident spoke about losing two of her sons…
Federal Member for Aston, Alan Tudge MP, has welcomed the removal of the Stud Road Bus Lane, between Ferntree Gully Road and Kelletts Road, following 12 months of campaigning on the issue. Mr Tudge has been one of the leaders in fighting for the bus lane to be scrapped. Mr Tudge said, “This is a…
PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA: I would like to make some brief remarks about Teach for Australia, which, as you may be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker Slipper, is an outstanding initiative that targets top non-teacher graduates and places them in, typically, disadvantaged schools. This initiative is based on very successful models in the United States and the…
PUBLISHED IN ‘THE PUNCH ‘. This is a joint submission by Christopher Pyne MP, Shadow Minister for Education, and Alan Tudge MP. Federal Member for Aston. As is often the case, the Gillard Government says one thing and does another. If Julia Gillard thinks that people should know their Bible stories because they have “formed…