Transcript - 2GB Alan Jones 8 July 2010

SUBJECTS: BER Rip-off; Coalition Education Policy

Alan Jones: Christopher Pyne, good morning.

Christopher Pyne: Good morning, Alan. Good to be with you.

Jones: Thank you for your time and for your proposal of all of this. Simon Crean is now conceding that value for money has not been delivered.

Pyne: Well, look, Simon Crean is showing all of the same grasp of detail of this policy that he had when he was responsible for Working Nation, which some of your listeners will remember back in the early 90s. It was a billion dollars, which in the early 90s was a lot of money. And of course it didn't create any jobs. Unemployment went up and Simon Crean's been given the Building the Education Revolution program, and apart from a (inaudible) about how value for money hasn't been achieved, he still is spending the money and not changing the program in spite of the fact that he admits money is being wasted.

Jones: $2.1 billion was handed over to the states last Thursday for them to squander. You're simply saying this money should be given directly on application to schools.

Pyne: Absolutely; Tony Abbott and I announced yesterday that an elected Coalition Government will pay what's left of the Building Education Revolution, which is about five and a half billion dollars, directly to the school communities and the principals to let them self manage their projects. What we're finding in the non-government school sector, who have self managed their projects, is that they are getting value for money. But in the government sector, the state governments are being ripped off blind, which means taxpayers - and it is a complete fiasco.

Just to give you an example; Rawlinson's says it should cost about $1500 a square metre for an average school building. The Catholics are paying about $2,400 and the State Government in New South Wales is paying $4,500 a square metre.

Jones: So you're saying take the money away from the states. But what concerns me, Christopher Pyne, is Simon Crean doesn't seem to understand his portfolio. He said earlier this (inaudible), "What do you say to the contractors and workers that you put on hold? Quite apart from breach of contract, which would open us up, I think to a bit of litigation." This is what Crean says. Now, the Gillard Government doesn't have any contract with builders. They pay the money to the State Government and the State Government may have contracts with builders, but those contracts are contingent upon receipt of money from the Commonwealth. No contracts would be signed if there was no money. Simon Crean doesn't seem to know how the system works.

Pyne: No, Simon Crean doesn't know how the system works. He is simply protecting his new boss because he knows this is the decomposing chook hanging around Julia Gillard's neck right through to Election Day. This Building the Education Revolution has been a fiasco where waste of anything up to $8 billion. And while she has tried to blame poor Kevin Rudd for every other problem, she is directly responsible for the waste and mismanagement of the Building the Education Revolution.

The Coalition says, let's trust principals and school communities. Let them self manage their projects. And also, if they get value for money, which they will, we'll let them keep the savings that they make and they can spend it on other projects in their school communities.

Jones: There was a classic case, which I'm sure you're aware of, this Black Hill Public School in Newcastle earlier this week. One of only four public schools to amplify the point Christopher Pyne is making. And this principal had the guts to self manage. He's a hero this bloke; Brian Adamthwaite, and they delivered a classroom block to the department's exact standards for less than two thirds of the amount charged to other New South Wales Schools. They got $850,000 under the Education Revolution. He built a double classroom, a single classroom, a basketball court with lights; he installed a rainwater tank and solar panels. They paid $2,154 per square metre; the State Government projects are charging $3,400 per square metre. So this bloke, with a lot of guts because they're intimidated not to do this, has done the job and you're saying other principals can do a similar job.

Pyne: The principals association came out yesterday and endorsed the Coalition's policy because the principals know that if the government schools had been allowed to do what non-government schools had done, then their school communities would have received value for money and the projects that they actually wanted and needed. I mean one of the other ironies.....

Jones: So, just in summary, get this clear to our listeners minds because you'll be accused of, "you're going to cancel the program." You're not cancelling the program. As I understand it, you're saying, the money will go on application directly to the schools.

Pyne: That's exactly right. We'll circumvent the state. Because they know, they've made a hash of it. We're not wasting any more money with you and your mates. We are giving the money directly to the school communities. We're going to let them manage their own projects and the savings that they make they will keep and spend on other projects in the school communities. So we're empowering the school communities and the principals just like in the non-Government sector.

Jones: Good on you. Thank you for your time. Well done.

Pyne: Pleasure.

Ends.