This week in the Senate I have been leading the attack against the Labor government’s biased application of stimulus and schools funding.
As reported in the Sunday Telegraph, research I conducted on the $810 million Science and Language Centre (SLC) program has revealed that Labor marginal seats receive, on average, nearly $1 million more than Coalition seats.
But it does not stop there – I also discovered that inner metropolitan seats held by Labor receive more than 3 times the amount of Coalition seats – $3.5 million compared to $1 million. Labor seats in outer metropolitan areas receive almost double the funding of Coalition seats and the bias in Melbourne is extraordinary.
This biased approach to funding decisions was further confirmed on the front page of yesterday’s Australian Financial Review.
Under this program, NSW Labor seats received nearly three times more than Coalition seats. Not surprisingly, Labor marginal seats were the big winners here too.
A pattern is now obvious. The Senate will investigate education funding next week. I will also be participating into a special Senate inquiry into the stimulus package later this month.