Labor’s Education Bill is simply a PR stunt

The Prime Minister claims she will introduce an entitlement for every child to receive an excellent education this week, but the draft Bill contains no funding, said the Shadow Minister for Education today.

“At nine pages and 1,400 words, the draft Australian Education Bill that Ms Gillard has again described as one of the most important Bills of 2012 is an empty shell, it certainly is not the Gonski school funding model,” Mr Pyne said.

“Labor has opted for a PR stunt, putting forward a set of feel good principles with no detail despite having promised changes for the last five years,” he said.

“The Gonski report outlined a timetable in its recommendations with milestones that would need to be met in order to introduce the model the Panel recommended to Government by 2014. The Gonski report suggested that the schooling resource standard amounts and loadings proposals should have been worked out by mid-2012.

“There is no sign of $6.5 billion per year that the Gonski report recommended in new funding for schools in this Bill. This means we still don’t know how much funding schools, school systems and State Governments can expect from the Commonwealth beyond 2013.

“Nearly a year has passed since the Government first received the Gonski report, and reports suggest that they are still trying to determine how the school funding model will work. 

“With 12 months before the new funding system must be legislated and agreed to it has now been confirmed that funding certainty can only be offered by a Coalition Government,” Mr Pyne said.

November 26, 2012