Greens and Labor indicate potential support for changes to school funding, but former PM says there will be vigorous internal debate first

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Tony Abbott has warned that the government’s so-called Gonski 2.0 funding reforms would face vigorous debate in the party room and the Liberal party should not undermine parental choice of schools.

In an interview on 2GB radio on Wednesday, Abbott also poured cold water on a call to make him governor general, continuing to push his credentials for a return to the frontbench.



Despite Abbott sounding a note of dissent on the education funding changes, the Greens and even Labor have indicated they could help pass them in the Senate.

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On Wednesday the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, told Radio National his party had to look at the details of the package but needy students had been missing out because of “the ongoing war based around how we invest in our education system”.

Di Natale said if there was a “significant investment” in public schools the Greens were “open to have a discussion with the government”.

He said Labor had made “the mistake” of guaranteeing funding increases to private schools and it “was a good thing” to trim the funding of the wealthiest ones.

“We think that’s a choice worth making – we don’t think it’s fair, the continued public investment in some of the wealthiest private schools comes at the cost of those public schools that desperately need the money.”

Di Natale his party would make a final decision independent of possible pressure from the Australian Education Union to oppose the policy.

Asked about Labor’s claims that the planned changes would result in Catholic schools increasing their fees, Abbott had told 2GB that Gonski 2.0 was “a very big change of policy … and it certainly hasn’t gone to the party room”.

“I would imagine that this will be pretty vigorously debated in the party room next week.

“It’s hard to be against extra funding for schools, but I note that at this stage it’s hard to see that any of this extra funding is specifically tied to better academic outcomes and better student performance.”

Abbott said the problem with the school system was not lack of funding but the need for principal autonomy, “academic rigour” and better teachers.

The policy, announced on Tuesday, included a review by the architect of the schools funding model, David Gonski, focusing on how schools could improve performance with their given funding.

Abbott would not say whether he would oppose cuts to schools in his electorate in the party room but said it was “almost an article of faith in our party since [Robert] Menzies that we were the party that promoted parental choice in education”.

At a press conference earlier on Wednesday Bill Shorten repeated Labor’s criticism that the schools funding policy is a $22bn cut over 10 years compared with the opposition’s policy. The opposition leader said the cut amounted to $2.5m per school – the equivalent of 20,000 teachers losing their jobs.



But Shorten said elements of the policy were “fair enough” – specifically cutting the funding of 24 “elite schools” and freezing the funding of 300 others.

“If we proposed it, the Liberals would have gone off their trolley. But the point is, if [Turnbull] is proposing that, we’re happy to work with him on that.”

On Wednesday the conservative columnist Miranda Devine suggested that Malcolm Turnbull should make Abbott governor general as a way to tame the “subtle or not so subtle provocations” caused by Abbott’s ongoing critique of the government.

In response, Abbott suggested he would prefer to stay in politics rather than put his hand up to become the Queen’s representative in Australia.

“I believe I have continuing contribution to make to our public life and … the best place I can make that … is where I can speak out freely.”

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Instead, Abbott burnished his credentials to return to the frontbench, saying he had been “effective” as a minister, opposition leader and prime minister and had a “lot of experience”.

“My job is to serve – to serve the party and to serve the country. But plainly the prime minister has come to a certain disposition about these things and he’s entitled to make his call.”

Abbott noted that he had had not left Turnbull on the backbench for an extended period of time. By contrast, Turnbull has repeatedly said that he will use ministerial reshuffles to promote junior talent.

Abbott said he was “just getting on with life, as the best possible local member and, from time to time, someone who speaks out, strongly I hope, on issues where something needs to be said”.