Earlier today I moved a motion and spoke to it in Parliament about school funding and the Federal Governments cruel cuts to funding through its reneging on the Gonski agreement. Education is the most powerful tool we can use to give every South Australian child the best possible start in life; proud to be part of a Government that will fight these cruel cuts and honour its commitments. I give a Gonski! Here is a copy of the speech: School Funding Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (12:37): I move: That this house— (a) condemns the Abbott government for cuts to South Australian public, Catholic and independent school funding under South Australias bilateral Gonski agreement with the Australian government; (b) notes the cut to the indexation rate by the Abbott government from an agreed 4.7 per cent to CPI, currently estimated at 2.5 per cent, and the freeze to the additional contribution which is estimated to reduce federal funding for South Australian public, Catholic and independent schools by $335 million over 2018 and 2019; and (c) calls on the Abbott government to honour South Australian public, Catholic and independent school funding arrangements in full under the National Education Reform Agreement between the Australian government and the government of South Australia. Education is the most powerful tool we can use to give every South Australian child the best possible start in life. As education reformer John Dewey said: Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself. For some of us in this place and for thousands of South Australian children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, high-quality and accessible education is a key—a key that unlocks the door to a decent and secure job or paves the way to accessing higher education, sometimes as the first member of a family to do so, or simply provides a platform for improved self-esteem and confidence to fully participate in our community. A key and enduring value of the South Australian Labor Party is to ensure that no South Australian is left behind, and this value was articulated as one of the key tenets of our election platform. Education was therefore at the heart of that platform: • a platform which provided additional support to students by expanding counselling services to every single primary school—every single one; • a platform to provide more opportunities for students to excel in their area of interest; and • crucially, a platform to deliver on our full six-year commitment to the Gonski agreement. I think it is important that this house reflects on the Gonski school funding agreement: • an historic school funding agreement between two governments; • an agreement to ensure that students who need extra help get it; • an agreement which would provide an extra $1.1 billion in funding for South Australian schools between 2014 and 2019; • an agreement that would ensure a fairer and more consistent model of school funding with greater equity, transparency and accountability; and • an agreement that would make a real difference to children in every suburb and every region of our state no matter what background they come from nor which school they go to. Members may recall that the federal Tony Abbott Liberal government went to the last federal election, just 9½ months ago, saying they were on a unity ticket with Labor on school funding. Specifically, Mr Abbott said, There is no difference between Kevin Rudd and myself when it comes to school funding. I am not sure that Tony Abbott understands what unity means. What a betrayal of the South Australian community that, once elected, we see the federal Liberal government renege on their commitment to South Australian children through the Gonski agreement. In the 2014 federal budget, the Abbott government announced that school funding from 2018 onwards would be indexed at CPI and enrolments. The same budget papers estimate CPI at 2.5 per cent—about half of the 4.7 per cent indexation rate in the agreed Gonski agreement. Indexing school funding to CPI and freezing the additional contribution under the Gonski agreement amounts to a $335 million cut from years 5 and 6 of our signed agreement for South Australian public, independent and Catholic schools. Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne have effectively torn up our Gonski agreement. They have callously torn up a contract with the people of South Australia, a contract with parents, a commitment to our students. I know that these cuts will be devastating to our schools. They amount to roughly $1,280 per student. In my electorate of Reynell this means a loss of $5.6 million in federal funding, resources and support—$5.6 million. That is the equivalent of 50 teachers, or 65 student support officers. At Christies Beach High School and Southern Vocational College, it means a cut of $1,462,000. At Wirreanda High School, it means a cut of $1,103,000. At Christies Beach Primary School, it means a cut of $468,000. At Pimpala Primary School, a cut of $457,000. At Flaxmill School, $404,000. At Morphett Vale East School, $394,000. At Christie Downs Primary School, it means a cut of $348,000. At Morphett Vale Primary School, it means a cut of $340,000. At Coorara Primary School, a cut of $303,000. At OSullivan Beach Primary School, it means a cut of $256,000. At Lonsdale Heights Primary School, it means a cut of $124,000. Again, a total of $5,659,000 cut from schools in Reynell—50 teachers and 65 student support officers. That is extra support that students in my local community will no longer have. The federal Liberal government has broken its promise to South Australians on school funding, but I am proud that we are keeping ours. Over the next four years our Treasurer and minister Rankine have confirmed that the state government is committed to our share of the bargain: an additional $72.3 million under the Gonski agreement for all South Australian schools increasing to $229.9 million over the full six years. I am proud to be part of a government that puts students and their education first and keeps its promise to ensure that no South Australian is left behind. I will continue to campaign against the federal Liberal Abbott government cuts to education. We on this side of the chamber stand shoulder to shoulder with both government and non-government schools and, importantly, our communities in this fight. And fight we will, for every child to access high quality education so that they, too, can find their pathway and they, too, can feel confident to participate in our community. What remains to be seen is whether those opposite will join us in this fight. Will, for example, the member for Bright, whose electorate neighbours Reynell stand up for schools in his area? I would be really happy to fight alongside him for the $797,000 cut to Brighton Primary School, for the $1,808,000 cut to Brighton Secondary School, for the $462,000 cut from Hallett Cove East Primary School, for the $1,633,000 cut from Hallett Cove School, for the $209,000 cut from Hallett Cove South Primary School, for the $28,000 cut from the Kilparrin Teaching Assessment School and Services, for the $564,000 cut from the Paringa Park Primary School, and for the $512,000 cut from the Seacliff Primary School. I look forward to working with him, to all of those opposite and to anyone who is committed to supporting South Australian students.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 06:40:19 +0000
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