Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Human Services (Senator Payne) to a question without notice asked by Senator Carr today relating to schools funding.

The OECD report released today highlights, if ever there was a need to highlight, the importance of why we should have Labor's school reform plans put in place. The report shows beyond a shadow of doubt that equity remains a major issue in Australia, despite what the Minister for Education said only last week:

I don't believe there is an equity problem in Australia.

The report has found that at the very lowest levels of socioeconomic background, students in Tasmania and the Northern Territory score substantially lower than those in other states. Disadvantaged students in Tasmania and the Northern Territory are some 1½ years behind their peers in other parts of Australia.

Overall, Australian students from the lower socioeconomic groups are about 2½ years behind those from wealthier backgrounds. Indigenous students are some 2½ years behind non-Indigenous students. Students in remote schools are almost two years behind students in metropolitan schools. Students in the independent school sector achieve results significantly higher than students in the Catholic or government school sectors. Students in the Catholic school sector score significantly higher than students in government schools.

The report said one of the most important indicators of equity is the strength of relationship between the social background of students and their educational achievements, despite what the minister said today. The report goes on to say:

If the relationship is strong, the education system is not acting to produce more equitable outcomes, but is instead reinforcing educational privilege where it exists by conferring higher scores and denying the potential to achieve where privilege does not already exist.

That is a fundamental concern of the Australian education system. The Gonski panel's review of Australian schooling, the most comprehensive study of Australian schooling for the better part of a generation, found that the school-funding policies pursued in the Howard era, the socioeconomic status model, was inefficient and unfair. It found the policy led to outcomes that disadvantaged poorer students and, perversely, increased funding for the wealthiest schools by between 50 and 90 per cent. It also found that 1,075 private schools had their funding preserved, whereas 60 per cent of the non-government and Catholic schools were outside the socioeconomic status model.

This is the model that the government champion. Whatever weasel words they use, this is the model—the John Howard model—they now seek to champion. It is a model that has failed. Government schools in this country enrol 80 per cent of students from lower socioeconomic groups, 85 per cent of Indigenous students and 78 per cent of students with disabilities. In 2009, only 56 per cent of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds finished year 12, compared to 75 per cent of children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. The Howard-era policies, which were highlighted in the OECD report today, are about perpetuating inequalities. That model of funding is about building privilege, rewarding those who are already well off and ensuring that the divisions in Australian society are enhanced and not reduced.

We need a funding model that ensures that money goes to people who are most in need. Essentially, the Labor model was about making sure we had significant reform and real equity in Australian education. That is exactly what Labor's model gave. That is why the government's abandonment of its pre-election promise is heinous. It is a commitment to reinforce privilege. It is about making sure that the wealthy and powerful continue their dominance of our society. The Gonski model was about ensuring that we had loadings for people with disabilities, Indigenous students, those in small or remote schools, those who came from disadvantaged households and those who had limited English. Those are the people who need most support. Under the Labor model, that is what they got, but that is not what they will get from this government because this government has abandoned its commitment to fairness, justice and equity. This government has abandoned its commitment to the Australian people.