Numbers just don’t add up

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is now desperately making up funding figures that are entirely off Budget in a desperate attempt to cobble together a school funding agreement, said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne today. “There is $2.8 billion over the next four years in redirected funding for schools in the Federal Budget made up from national partnership funding,” Mr Pyne said. “According to The Age Newspaper today the Gillard Government is claiming rivers of gold will flow to schools in Victoria with the Commonwealth’s 65 per cent share adding up to around $1.2 billion in additional funding over the next four years. “Out of the original $2.8 billion, Victoria’s share according to this report is around 40 per cent of the funding. It leaves $1.6 billion for the rest of the country. “The Prime Minister has today offered Western Australia a ‘special deal’- $920 million in new funding. With the Federal Government contributing 65%, this is just under $600 million in Commonwealth funding, or $400 million over four years. “With Victoria and Western Australia’s share gone, that leaves around $1.2 billion for the rest of the country. “New South Wales has a bigger school system than Victoria, but it is unclear what it will receive over the next four years. New South Wales does have a clause in their agreement that no State can receive a better deal than them. Will that mean New South Wales will receive Western Australia’s deal? “Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have no agreement yet and the additional funding over the forward estimates is vanishing before our eyes. “Desperately rushing a school funding model through the Parliament and forcing States to sign up making un-costed un-budgeted promises is no way to run a Government or a country,” Mr Pyne said. June 12, 2013