Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is curious that those who argue most that money is not so important in education spend a fortune in educating their own children in private schools. The Prime Minister has told us that money is not the answer, while strongly defending government funding to elite schools in his maiden speech. These elite schools clearly understand what resources can do. The Geelong Grammar School website tells of its first-class facilities, including a wellbeing centre—with a 10-lane indoor swimming pool, multipurpose indoor courts, gymnasium and dance/yoga studios—a medical centre, an equestrian centre, sailing and rowing facilities, a state-of-the-art library with more than 100,000 books and even a recording studio.

In contrast, Gonski found that many government schools suffered from a lack of capital investment, which:

… impacts on the educational opportunities afforded to the students, as well as the attitudes and morale of students, parents and the broader community.

The panel found that:

… a significant increase in funding is required across all schooling sectors, with the largest part of this increase flowing to the government sector due to the significant numbers and greater concentration of disadvantaged students attending government schools.

They found that the performance gap in Australia is far greater than in any other OECD country. It is not just about the money, but, as the rich schools know, it is money— (Time expired)