Greens and Independents Education Policies Call Non-Government School Funding into Question

Media Release, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, 31 August 2010; Media Release, The Hon. Christopher Pyne, MP, 1 September 2010; Media Release, Independent Schools Victoria, 2 September 2010; The Australian, 2 September 2010; Sydney Morning Herald, 2 September 2010

The Coalition’s education spokesman, Mr Christopher Pyne, has argued that parents of students at non-government schools should be concerned about the Australian Greens’ education policies in light of the agreement that they signed to support the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian Parliament.

Mr Pyne noted that the Greens’ policy platform included commitments to:

• ‘end the current arrangement for recurrent funding to non-government schools by no later than the end of 2010’
• ‘invest the money saved from ending public subsidies to the very wealthiest private schools into a national equity funding program for public schools’
• ‘support the maintenance of the total level of Commonwealth funding for private schools at 2003-04 levels, indexed for inflation’
• ‘ensure the viability and diversity of existing public schools is not endangered by the development of new private schools’

Mr Pyne argued that ‘while Labor paid lip-service to the non-government sector to avoid any controversy during the election campaign, the Greens have been violently anti-choice in education’, and claimed that if the ALP helped to implement the Greens’ funding policies it would lead to ‘higher school fees for parents and less choice in education’.

The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales also noted that, if the Greens used their education policies as a bargaining tool with a possible ALP government, it could have a ‘disastrous impact’ on non-government schools. The Chief Executive of Independent Schools Victoria, Ms Michelle Green, likewise called for the ALP to keep its election promise to maintain the existing school funding arrangements until the end of 2013. She stated that Independent Schools Victoria ‘accepts the need for a review of funding for Australian education but we do not believe that the process should be rushed or used as a political bargaining chip’. The Leader of the ALP, Ms Julia Gillard, claimed that the Coalition’s claims were ‘dishonest scaremongering’.

In addition, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) has criticised an independent Member of Parliament after he announced that one of his key policy priorities was to make changes to funding for non-government schools.

The newly elected Member for Denison, Mr Andrew Wilkie, outlined a range of 20 issues that he wanted to discuss with the ALP and the Coalition as he decided which party he would support to form a minority government.

In education, Mr Wilkie stated that his focus was on ‘overturning the recent Federal Government decision to extend to 2014 the review of the Federal funding model for education. Instead complete the review by 2012, and implement the recommendations as soon as practicable.’

CECV argued that Catholic schools would ‘welcome Mr Wilkie’s participation in the review of school funding as part of a transparent process’, but expressed concern that schools ‘certainly don’t want to be pawns in a political game’.

Independent Schools Victoria also argued that ‘Mr Wilkie does not have a mandate to horse-trade funding for education to secure electorate benefits from a government of his choice’.

 

 

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