It is a great honour to have been appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Schools, and in particular to have the opportunity to work with Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek in this critical policy area.
I thank Bill Shorten for giving me this chance to make a contribution to his team.
Ensuring that every Australian child has every chance to fulfill their potential is at the core of Labor's vision of a good society.
It's also of fundamental importance to enabling the inclusive economic growth which will secure our living standards into the future.
This has to be underpinned by a national government that will invest in our greatest renewable resource, our people, through needs-based funding of Australian schools.
I look forward to meeting with, and listening to, all those interested in schools policy in the coming months: students, teachers, parents, representative organisations and academic experts. I will do my best to give voice to their experiences, concerns and expertise in holding the Turnbull Government to account, and further strengthening Labor's policy together with Tanya and the rest of the education team.
I also take this opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to Kate Ellis and Amanda Rishworth for their work in this area in the last parliament.