❓ Mr Hatton questions the Premier on WA's refusal to agree to the Gillard government's Gonski reforms, citing inequitable funding distribution. The Premier defends WA's position, highlighting existing high funding levels and concerns about the reform's objectives.
AnsweredQoN 11Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EDUCATION —
GONSKI REFORMS
11. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Premier:
As a schoolteacher for 30 years, I read with great interest
media reports over the past few days stating that New South Wales will receive
16 times more funding than Western Australia in exchange for signing up to the
Gillard government's Gonski reforms that propose base funding to school
students well below those already in place in Western Australia. Can the
Premier explain to the house why the state government will not agree to the
model as proposed?
GONSKI REFORMS
11. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Premier:
As a schoolteacher for 30 years, I read with great interest
media reports over the past few days stating that New South Wales will receive
16 times more funding than Western Australia in exchange for signing up to the
Gillard government's Gonski reforms that propose base funding to school
students well below those already in place in Western Australia. Can the
Premier explain to the house why the state government will not agree to the
model as proposed?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Balcatta and again congratulate him on
his election to this Parliament. There are a number of issues with the
so-called Gonski reforms. If members of Parliament have not read the report, I
suggest they do so. It is pretty boring, but within the first couple of pages
it starts off with some false assumptions. Take it from there. It has achieved
a stature that I do not believe it deserves. However, let me say that Western
Australia is always ready and willing to agree at a national level on policy
issues, and even funding, that improve education; we have done so over the term of this government with the national
curriculum and the like and we have been constructive in every sense.
There are some
issues with Gonski as it is proposed to be implemented by the Gillard
government. First, as the member for Balcatta referred to, the funding
allocation is just completely
inequitable. Not only does New
South Wales get 16 times the
amount that Western Australia gets, with only three times our population, but Tasmania also gets more than
Western Australia. The Northern Territory, with a population smaller than the
City of Stirling, gets the same amount of money as Western Australia. That is
clearly inequitable. The Prime Minister talks about $300 million for Western
Australia. Of that $300 million, $100 million is to come from the state and
then it is spread over six years. It amounts to $33 million a year from the
commonwealth. Let us compare that with the size of the state education budget,
which is $4 billion—a tiny amount of money that comes with extensive
strings attached.
The other thing is that the Gonski report refers to a base
level of funding for students and it sets a target. This is the aspiration of
the Gillard government. The target is that each primary school student should
be funded to the extent of $9 200. Western Australia already funds primary
schools to the tune of $13 900 per student. The federal government, Julia
Gillard, says that we should aspire to reach $12 200 per high school student.
We already fund secondary school students to the tune of $19 000. We are at
least 25 per cent ahead in the funding of students in this state compared with
the Australian average. What has been missed in this debate is that these
aspirational targets do not apply next year. These aspirational targets will
not come into place until 2019. They will still be a mile behind Western
Australia. That is why I am saying that we will not tie ourselves to a funding
growth rate that is lower than would otherwise occur. There are just so many
things wrong with it.
If the
objective were genuine, and that objective was a funding system that ensured
that all students, including isolated students, those with a disability or with
English as a second language, had equal access to education and equal services
in education, that could be done without what Julia Gillard is proposing, and
Western Australia would cooperate with that. I make the claim that even now and
into the future Western Australia can demonstrate that it can meet all targets
in base-level funding and it can meet all targets in loadings for disadvantage.
We probably already do that and we guarantee that we could do it. Julia Gillard
is not interested in that. She is interested in changing the system of funding
so that the Western Australian government spends relatively less on state
government schools and transfers that into the private school system of
Catholic and Independent schools. That is the objective as I understand it.
That is what we will not agree to.
his election to this Parliament. There are a number of issues with the
so-called Gonski reforms. If members of Parliament have not read the report, I
suggest they do so. It is pretty boring, but within the first couple of pages
it starts off with some false assumptions. Take it from there. It has achieved
a stature that I do not believe it deserves. However, let me say that Western
Australia is always ready and willing to agree at a national level on policy
issues, and even funding, that improve education; we have done so over the term of this government with the national
curriculum and the like and we have been constructive in every sense.
There are some
issues with Gonski as it is proposed to be implemented by the Gillard
government. First, as the member for Balcatta referred to, the funding
allocation is just completely
inequitable. Not only does New
South Wales get 16 times the
amount that Western Australia gets, with only three times our population, but Tasmania also gets more than
Western Australia. The Northern Territory, with a population smaller than the
City of Stirling, gets the same amount of money as Western Australia. That is
clearly inequitable. The Prime Minister talks about $300 million for Western
Australia. Of that $300 million, $100 million is to come from the state and
then it is spread over six years. It amounts to $33 million a year from the
commonwealth. Let us compare that with the size of the state education budget,
which is $4 billion—a tiny amount of money that comes with extensive
strings attached.
The other thing is that the Gonski report refers to a base
level of funding for students and it sets a target. This is the aspiration of
the Gillard government. The target is that each primary school student should
be funded to the extent of $9 200. Western Australia already funds primary
schools to the tune of $13 900 per student. The federal government, Julia
Gillard, says that we should aspire to reach $12 200 per high school student.
We already fund secondary school students to the tune of $19 000. We are at
least 25 per cent ahead in the funding of students in this state compared with
the Australian average. What has been missed in this debate is that these
aspirational targets do not apply next year. These aspirational targets will
not come into place until 2019. They will still be a mile behind Western
Australia. That is why I am saying that we will not tie ourselves to a funding
growth rate that is lower than would otherwise occur. There are just so many
things wrong with it.
If the
objective were genuine, and that objective was a funding system that ensured
that all students, including isolated students, those with a disability or with
English as a second language, had equal access to education and equal services
in education, that could be done without what Julia Gillard is proposing, and
Western Australia would cooperate with that. I make the claim that even now and
into the future Western Australia can demonstrate that it can meet all targets
in base-level funding and it can meet all targets in loadings for disadvantage.
We probably already do that and we guarantee that we could do it. Julia Gillard
is not interested in that. She is interested in changing the system of funding
so that the Western Australian government spends relatively less on state
government schools and transfers that into the private school system of
Catholic and Independent schools. That is the objective as I understand it.
That is what we will not agree to.
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