Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The answer to her question is no. The reality is that the Turnbull government's reforms are ensuring that schools across Australia are receiving fair, consistent funding. It sees growth in funding lift to around $23 to $25 billion over the next decade. We see real, consistent, needs based funding being applied. It means that non-government schools, regardless of their background, affiliation or otherwise will be funded based on their need.

The Turnbull government believes schools should be funded based on the need of the children in those schools, not on the political deals that can be done, like the Labor Party seeks to do. When the Gonski report was handed down the response of the then Labor government was to say, 'Let's do a bunch of special deals rather than apply the Gonski report.' In the context of the 2013 election, the then Labor government ripped $1.2 billion out of the schools-funding budget. They took that money away from states like Western Australia and Queensland and from the Northern Territory as well. Then they had the gall to come into this chamber and vote against the Turnbull government's application of the Gonski reforms. They voted against a model that was endorsed by David Gonski himself, that was endorsed by a number of other members of the original Gonski panel. Now, in a reversion right back to the start of Mr Shorten's response to the original Gonski report, they are trying to go back to do special deals. The truth is there is additional funding to core school sectors right around the country, to the independent sector, the Catholic sector and the government sector, but it is being delivered fairly and consistently on the basis of need. (Time expired)