State and territory education ministers are fuming after meeting federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne on Friday, arguing that the Coalition government is not providing enough certainty around schools funding.
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli expressed particular concern that the federal government had implied state schools might lose money in a post-Gonski system.
“The Commonwealth has implied that if there is a reduction in funding for states that have signed up . . . that reduction may only well come out of public schools. That is of enormous concern to all jurisdictions. I sought as Chair some clarification about that but none was forthcoming,” Mr Piccoli told reporters in Sydney.
Mr Piccoli described debate in the meeting as “heated”.
“You can’t get meaningful and long-term change in schools if you only have one year of [funding] certainty,” he told reporters in Sydney.
Mr Piccoli said his Liberal state government had “every right” to rely on the Coalition’s pre-election pledge that it was on a “unity ticket” with Labor when it came to schools funding.
Tasmanian Education Minister Nick McKim slammed Mr Pyne’s “complete incapacity” to offer any guarantees to states who had signed on to the Gonski reforms about schools funding.
“You wouldn’t have thought it possible, [but] there is now less certainty at lunchtime today than there was when we walked into this meeting this morning,” he said.
Mr McKim, who is also leader of the Tasmanian Greens, said that Mr Pyne had implied “strongly” that the federal government was able to renegotiate funding agreements, particularly about the “relativities” between government and non-government schools.
“This is a bombshell revelation that will rock the public education system in Australia to its core,” Mr McKim said. “[Mr Pyne] has lobbed a stick of dynamite into what was a very tranquil pool.”
Mr Piccoli and Mr McKim were also joined by South Australian, Victorian and ACT education ministers in slamming the federal government’s approach.
But Mr Pyne appeared unfussed as he responded to the state and territory ministers’ remarks.
“We’re not breaking any promises, we’re keeping all our promises,” he told reporters in Sydney.
He said that “rhetoric” and “posturing” about money being taken away from schools was “jumping the gun”.
Mr Pyne also said that there was nothing new about states and the Commonwealth disagreeing about funding.
“I’ll work collaboratively and respectfully with all my colleagues to make sure that we put students first,” he said.
