Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I think we need to, in part, separate the government’s transparency agenda from the Gonski review issue per se. The minister has been quite clear in saying that the My School website is an evolving process. We have made some very significant steps in getting the level and amount of information on My School 2 which is currently available. My impression is that the community is still digesting what is presently available. Some of the indications seem to be that even for parents some of what is presently available is complex and difficult to interpret. In response, I would say that the My School website is an evolving process. We have not ruled out dealing with assets in the future, but I cannot say at this time that we have a clear position or commitment to actually proceed. As I said, we are currently digesting the level of financial information that is currently available on My School 2 and the government will continue to review how we provide further information not only for parents but for schools, the school communities and educators so that we can move this system closer towards excellence.

On the asset side, Senator Xenophon, you gave some information about a Sydney Exclusive Brethren school. That information, in part, is no surprise to me or to the government. We are aware of these anomalies in the existing system. That is what both this transparency process and the Gonski review are designed to deal with. My advice a moment ago was that those issues arise out of the former government’s ‘funding maintained’ status, which is indeed being addressed within the Gonski review.