The spineless PM has capitulated again, this time on school funding. From The Canberra Times:
The Turnbull government has buckled to demands from conservative MPs to delay the introduction of less-generous funding arrangements for Catholic schools, after insisting it would wipe out the “special deals” created by the previous Labor government.
In the face of ferocious opposition from the Catholic sector, and the prospect of several senators crossing the floor, Education Minister Simon Birmingham on Tuesday agreed to roll over the current arrangements for Catholic schools for at least 12 months.
The move should help smooth over divisions in the Coalition party room but carries the risk of inflaming the private school sector and damaging the prospect of a deal with the Greens…
During the next 12 months a review of the socio-economic status (SES) methodology underpinning the government’s funding model would be conducted…
Catholic education sector sources said the move, which would deliver them an estimated extra $62 million funding next year, would provide them with welcome “breathing space” but would not convince them to back the government.
It came as a former head of the Australian Education Union urged the Greens and Senate crossbenchers to back the government’s school funding changes in a dramatic break with the position of the current union leadership…
As I have noted previously, the original botched Gonski program implemented by Labor would have seen non-government school students – and those in Catholic schools in particular – receiving greater taxpayer funding than average public school students by 2020:
By comparison, the Gonski 2.0 package proposed by the Turnbull Government would have redirected some funding from these privileged Catholic schools to public schools, improving equity and saving the Budget billions in the process.
Sadly, the vocal Catholic School sector appears to have won the day, and they will continue to receive a disproportionate share of taxpayer funding with underfunded public schools the likely losers.
