Mr Rudd, where are our laptops? By 2013 or

Students promised a laptop computer by Kevin Rudd prior to the 2007 election are disappointed they were duped by the Labor Government, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

"Last night on Q&A the Prime Minister was grilled over when the laptops would hit school desks. Originally a four year program it has blown out until '2013 or thereabouts' according to Mr Rudd," Mr Pyne said.

"Thousands of disappointed people gathering on facebook groups are asking 'Rudd, where are our promised laptops'. This Government has failed to live up to the expectations they created and have failed to deliver on their promises," he said.

"More and more Australians are waking up to the fact that Kevin Rudd is all talk and no action.

The Governments Computers in Schools program has been beset with problems from the beginning.

• State governments revolted over the fact that there was no consideration in the original budget for installation, maintenance and running costs of computers. This lead to a $1.2 billion taxpayer funded blow out.
• Parents are being charged with additional costs to take laptops home despite the Prime Minister claiming that this shouldn't happen.
• The last round of Senate Estimates revealed that only 154,000 of the promised 1,000,000 computers are actually functioning in schools.
• It has been plagued by criticism from educational experts about the possible detrimental impact on learning that heavy reliance on computers in classrooms can cause.
• It was revealed that no cost/benefit analysis was ever conducted.

"This Government is big on rhetoric and bad on delivery. The Prime Minister needs to appoint a full time education minister who is across the detail of the portfolio and has the time to deliver on promises.

February 9, 2010

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