Transcript - 5AA - 19 January 2010

SUBJECTS: Computers in Schools controversy

(greetings omitted)

Amanda BLAIR: I saw you having a go at Kevin Rudd's computer's scheme...what's your take on it, Christopher?

Christopher PYNE: Well the promise before the 2007 election from Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard was that every child between year 9 and year 12 would get a laptop computer. Of course a lot of people said at the time there were better things that could be done with taxpayer's money than a laptop computer but that was the promise he made. Of course two-and-a-half years later they've rolled out about 150 000...

BLAIR: ...how many do we need? What are the estimated numbers?

PYNE: 975 000. And they say they're going to do the other 750 000 in the next five months! So I don't know how they're going to achieve that so we're surprised that because a lot of schools are short on equipment they are charging parents for taking the laptops home after hours and that is a problem because not every family will be able to afford to do that and you now create two classes of students; those who can use the laptop all the time and students who can use their laptop only during school hours and I think that is inequitable and certainly wasn't what parents were expecting when they voted Labor at the last election.

BLAIR: Also, though, it's the notion of having all these laptops at home. You've got four children yourself so if Eleanor, your oldest child, brings home a laptop and the other kids spill drinks on it, shove sandwiches into it...the keyboards...there's all sorts of associated risks with kids taking that sort of garbage home.

PYNE: Well a lot of teachers see it now as better had they provided a laptop to the teacher because the teacher's the one who needs the equipment and training skills to impart to our students. I think laptops are a very important tool but I thin there are better ways to spend taxpayer's money than to hand out 975 000 laptop computers. I'm not sure how many will disappear altogether. You'd have to expect some laptops will never be seen again! And there is plenty of potential for damage. So I approve the Government wants to improve the facilities available to our students but I would rather the $16billion spent on Julia Gillard Memorial School Halls and the laptops actually spent on supporting teachers. Paying them adequately, getting more teachers...because, and it's not fashionable to say, you can have a terrific school in a not-so-fashionable building as long as you have great teachers and students who want to learn.

BLAIR: Absolutely. In fact you get first Applause For The Day for that comment so well done, Christopher Pyne!

PYNE: Thank you.

BLAIR: What about the notion of having a fully-equipped computer room? Surely that would have been a better way forward...

PYNE: Well there are a lot better ways for students to learn and we've had anecdotal evidence from teachers worried all their students heads will be buried in these laptops when they're trying to teach them the basics of English or Maths...History or Languages or whatever they're trying to teach them. We've got stories from interstate where children are being told not to share their password with anybody and they're not sharing it with their parents and parents are getting reports about children doing things on the Internet they would never allow but they can't actually stop them because they can't get the password. There are certain rules in every family and a lot of us have the computer in the family room so you can see what's going on in the room all the time. Now someone's got a laptop that they don't have to share with their parents and they can do whatever they like on it...it starts to create all sorts of social issues that I don't' think have been thought through.

BLAIR: And what is the take of the Labor Government and parents having to pay for their laptops? Are they sort of going ""Well okay, that's sort of up to them to do, it's not a Government initiative"" because I think that places parents in a really unfortunate position where you've got 15 kids whose parents went and bought them a laptop and then ten who haven't...can't afford it or don't want to and then that child is going to be marginalised. Not only disadvantaged from an academic perspective but totally marginalised socially.

PYNE: It will be very difficult for the parents to refuse to pay the money for after-hours use of the laptops. We all have children, too many children like I do, and we all know what it's like when the child can't afford to go on the school excursion. Now that child has to go, because otherwise they become socially excluded and the same will happen with the laptops if parents can't afford to pay for them. Now Kevin Rudd said yesterday no parent should be charged. Julia Gillard said yesterday that it was a matter for individual State Governments and schools. We haven't yet got a clear idea what the policy is in regards to charging parents for laptops and they haven't clarified that yet today so there is confusion reigning about this issue.

(ends)