Release the modelling

The Government is in damage control after leaked modelling over the weekend revealed one in three Australian schools would lose money under the Gonski school funding changes, said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne.

“The modelling over the weekend blew apart the Government’s claim that no school will lose a dollar in funding. The Prime Minister reportedly confirmed on the weekend that the Government has been aware of this for months,” Mr Pyne said.

“Even with the additional $5 billion a year in 2009 dollars proposed by the Gonski Review, 3,254, or one third of all schools would be worse off, including 2,330 public schools,” he said.

“Today the Prime Minister has suggested that all schools would receive additional funding on top of the $5 billion a year required to fund the Gonski changes. It defies credibility.

“The Government has had the Gonski Review since December last year and we’re still waiting to see a formal and detailed response.

“Without the Government’s modelling, the Prime Minister’s assurances are just the same old spin. How can we possibly trust anything this Prime Minister says? The modelling must be released immediately to give parents and schools the certainty they need,” Mr Pyne said.

August 20, 2012