Schools Assistance Submissions support Coalition

The Senate Committee public hearings into the Schools Assistance Bill 2008 tomorrow will highlight how the real concerns of non-government schools are being bulldozed by the Rudd Government, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

“The debate over the Schools Assistance Bill has exposed that under the Rudd Government the current funding model for non-government schools is on the chopping block,” Mr Pyne said.

“In revealing that she intends to publish completely superfluous school funding data, Education Minister Julia Gillard has made plain Labor’s intent to ruthlessly pursue their ideological opposition to non-government schools,” he said.

“The politics of envy are alive and well in the Australian Labor Party.

“For schools it will be like sending your personal tax return to the tax office and reading about it on page one the next day.

“Non-government schools have been placed in a difficult position by this government. They’re being asked to sign up for what amounts to deeply flawed and ambiguous legislation by a Government that is on the record as having little love for non-government schools.

“Geelong College echoed the Coalition’s concerns about new powers the Minister will have to cut or cease funding, concerns Ms Gillard said were an attempted scare campaign.

They wrote in their submission:

The Geelong College believes that to thus empower a Minister when an audit qualification arises from non-viability factors is unreasonable and inappropriate.

Rudolf Steiner Schools had enormous concerns about the viability of specialised educational streams under a prescriptive national curriculum, something Ms Gillard has washed her hands of, handing the decision to an unaccountable administrative body.

Rudolf Steiner Schools wrote:

…the integrity of our curriculum, methodology and educational pathway - which our parents consciously choose for their children - could be under threat.

“At the end of the day, non-government schools who educate more than 30% of all Australian students rely on government funding to offset the educational costs allowing more parents choice in education,” Mr Pyne said.

“The Government controls the levers of Parliament and can ensure that this legislation is passed on time,” he said.

“If the Rudd Government is fair dinkum about supporting choice and diversity in education then it will accept the Coalition’s amendments.

18 November 2008

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Adam Howard

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