When Senator Jacqui Lambie (pictured) swung her support behind the federal government’s Gonski 2.0 reforms on Wednesday, it ensured the legislation would pass the senate.
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But the victory for the government has been seen as a loss by many in the education sector. We now have both major parties in Canberra each having their own version of education funding bearing the name of Professor David Gonski, who has conducted reports into the best ways to improve what we achieve in education.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has previously said this issue should be above petty partisan politics, and should only be about what is best for our next generation and their education. We couldn’t agree more.
The state MP is a supporter of the funding model, which has seen public schools in his electorate receive an additional $12 million in recurrent funding in the first three years of Gonski.
“There is no doubt in my mind of the benefits it is having in our schools and classrooms every single day,” Mr Marshall has said.
Prominent crossbench senator Nick Xenophon claimed yesterday’s deal with the government is delivering the real Gonski package, because Professor Gonski himself wanted it passed.
But teacher groups in our region have been critical of the Gonski 2.0 deal claiming that by 2027 only 16 per cent of public schools will have the minimum level of resources as originally identified by Professor Gonski. At the same time, they say the number of overfunded private schools will increase from 17 per cent to 64.7 per cent.
There is also opposition from the Catholic education sector. Meanwhile, Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek urged the Senate not to pass a funding model that "parents hate, that teachers hate, that will be terrible for Australia's children".
"This is not needs-based, it's not set the blind, it is not fair," she said.
Closer to home, Teacher’s Association representative Mercurius Goldstein said the NSW Department of Education and local schools were still in the dark. Mr Goldstein has also been a candidate for the Greens in recent elections.
While the federal government may have got their legislation passed by the senate, the wishes for the Gonski to be above partisan politics seem to be further away than ever.