A former NSW education minister has accused Anglo-Australian parents of caring too much about their children's sports and not enough about their education.

And one of the Turnbull government's top education advisers has suggested Australia needs an economic "shock", such as a recession, to force it to re-evaluate its school spending priorities.

"We have a cultural issue," says recently-departed NSW education minister Adrian Piccoli. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Adrian Piccoli, who was NSW education minister until September last year, said 25 years of unbroken economic growth along with an abundant supply of natural resources have "made Australia culturally a bit complacent" when it comes to education.

"We have a cultural issue in Australia, mainly on the basis of how lucky we are as a country," he told a panel discussing the forthcoming Gonski 2.0 review of the school system on Tuesday.