School reform a key to mining future: Julia Gillard

JULIA Gillard has linked her Gonski schools reforms to the future of the nation's mining industry, declaring education, not immigration, will eliminate skilled labour shortages.

JULIA Gillard has linked her Gonski schools reforms to the future of the nation's mining industry, declaring education, not immigration, will eliminate skilled labour shortages.

A day after pledging a $6.5 billion-a-year education “crusade”, the Prime Minister offered real-world justification for her as-yet unfunded Gonski changes.

The Prime Minister told the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies in Perth that lifting education standards was the key to securing engineers, geologists, technicians and tradies for the mining industry.

“Yes, migration has a place but it is not going to be the cure-all that some may think,' she said.

“Why fly workers in from Manila or Shanghai when they could be flying in from Hobart or Adelaide, especially given the softening of construction and manufacturing in many parts of the nation?

“Why hold job expos in the eastern states of America when you could be holding them in the eastern states of Australia?”

Ms Gillard said Australia's school results weren't good enough, with the nation's students now ranked 13th in the world on their mathematics abilities, down from 5th a decade ago.

“The average 15-year-old maths student in Australia is more than two years behind a 15-year-old in Shanghai,” she said.

Ms Gillard urged mining bosses to use their lobbying power to secure the support of the states, who will be expected to provide much of the extra schools funding.

“The mining industry knows a thing or two about lobbying,” Ms Gillard said.

“So use that tremendous organising power to say to the premiers and chief ministers: `Get on board with Gillard's plan'.”