Gonski back in the tent

David Gonski, old mate of Malcolm Turnbull has decided that it's warmer in the tent than out and has joined with Birmingham and Turnbull to launch....wait for it ....Gonski 2.0 Yes, Groan! Turnbull said that!

 

80% of additional funding in last two years of  the original Gonski was to public schools - under Turnbull's new plan it is less than half. Not needs-based funding at all! Apparently they are going to take money off some elite, mega rich private schools ( tinkering) which is a good PR move but that's all. The states weren't consulted over the new vague plan, apparently the NSW education minister might take them to court for fudging them on the original plan. The Victorian Government thinks there will be a $630 million shortfall for Victorian schools. It is essentially a 22 billion dollar cut! The AEU has been caught flat footed over this because of the reliance on Gonski who has now 'gone rogue'. Maybe they should promote the'Boston Plan' ( Ken Boston was part of the review) 

So now we have the ridiculous situation where Turnbull has employed Gonski to lead a new review into schools funding. Having largely gotten it right the first time, he'll now do it again! 

I wonder why?????

 

The Queensland Government sees through the nonsense.

Most of the money allocated in the Federal Government’s overhaul of school funding will not be available for five years, Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones says.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlined plans to increase Commonwealth funding from $17.5 billion in 2017 to $30.6 billion in 2027 — a 75 per cent increase in recurrent spending.

Mr Turnbull has also directed businessman David Gonski, who led the former Labor government’s review of education, to conduct another review of the sector.

But the funding announcement was less than the amount previously proposed by Federal Labor, which state and territory education ministers had been calling for.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the overhaul would leave schools $22 billion worse off than they would have been under a Labor government.

Although Ms Jones welcomed the new funding, she said there was going to be no real difference to Queensland state schools in the next two to three years. 

“It’ll probably amount to around $5 per student — this really is a bit of smoke and mirrors,” she said.

Ms Jones said the reality was her Government would get $1 million extra from the Federal Government in next year’s budget compared to this year’s to share among the 1,200 state schools in Queensland. 

“This funding bonanza that they are trying to paint today really doesn’t kick in until the out-years [beyond the budgeted year],” she said. 

“I welcome the announcement today that they are going to put in more funding to schools … but it won’t flow to classrooms for at least another five years — the concern is though that all of this funding is in the out-years. 

“It’s a 10-year agreement where the bulk of the money will be flowing to the states in the out-years.

“What I’m concerned about that is the Turnbull Government — after promising at the last election that they wouldn’t walk away from the Gonski funding model — did. 

“They tore up the six-year agreement and now they are saying we should trust them on a 10-year agreement.” 

Australian Education Union spokeswoman Meredith Pease said the Federal Government was still not delivering the full funding plan put forward by Mr Gonski in 2013.

 

Meanwhile....this is how much Birmingham's higher education cuts will effect students.

 

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