Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (15:25): Many members may not know that for many years I owned my own business. My business was an education business, and at one stage it employed upwards of 45 people.

Mr Nathan Hagarty: The party of small business.

Mrs SALLY QUINNELL: We are the party of small business. It became very apparent, as my business grew, that there are two ways to manage a budget. One is to increase incoming funds. In my case, it was to raise the fees of my students. The other way is to lower costs. There is a lot that we would like to fund. There are many schools that need to be built. The member for Leppington, the member for Heathcote and I know that there are lots of things that are desperately needed in our areas and that the Labor Minns Government would like to fund. But those opposite left us with $188 million of debt. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to have discussions about a one-off initiative that was not continued. The point of that one-off initiative was to put people back on their feet after COVID.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich): Order! Members are able to contribute to the debate by seeking the call, not by debating across the Chamber. The member for Camden will be heard in silence.

Mrs SALLY QUINNELL: At the end of the day, it comes down to what will be the most effective thing to help our students learn in the classroom. The number one thing that affects student learning in the classroom —the most critical resource—is teachers. When classes are split, when children are sent to the covered outdoor learning area for lesson after lesson—at one of my local schools, on one Friday, 78 classes sat in the playground due to the complete lack of teachers. In that case, teachers were leaving the system very quickly. That goes to show how out of touch the former Government was. It stripped bare what teachers were doing. It took us coming to government to raise teachers' wages and say to them, "We see you. We value you. We know what you do day in, day out." It is more than teaching reading, writing, maths or music, as the case may be. The thing we remember most about our best teachers is how they made us feel. At the end of the day, if you feel seen and heard and safe, you can learn. It is important to reiterate that no teacher or school would ever let a student go without a resource needed for learning. We have put our money where it would be most effective.