Bill Shorten on WA education cuts: Doesn't check out

Updated

Changes to the education budget in Western Australia have provoked protest rallies across the state.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the Abbott Government is to blame for education spending cuts in Western Australia.

"Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne gave the green light to the Barnett Government to take state money out of the education system in Western Australia," he said.

"Or to put it in human terms, the Barnett Government has cut $183 million from education. 360 teachers - gone. 350 teachers' aides and support staff - gone."

The claim: Bill Shorten says Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne are to blame for WA's Barnett Government cutting $183 million from education and culling 360 teachers and 350 teachers' aides and support staff.

Bill Shorten says Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne are to blame for WA's Barnett Government cutting $183 million from education and culling 360 teachers and 350 teachers' aides and support staff. The verdict: The WA education budget increased by $300 million this year. WA hasn't signed any agreement that would allow the Federal Government to stop it cutting its own education budgets, so Mr Abbott and Mr Pyne have no control over the Barnett Government's education funding decisions.

Western Australia's education budget

The WA 2013-14 budget papers released on August 8 show a 6.3 per cent or $260 million increase in the education budget to $4.4 billion.

The rise is due in large part to increases in student numbers in the state's schools. "Student enrolment growth means there is ongoing pressure to build new schools; replace, refurbish and maintain existing schools; and appropriately staff additional classes," the budget says.

The budget also says that over the past six years expenditure on education has grown by an average 7.9 per cent a year.

A further $40 million was added to education spending when the budget was updated in the Mid-year Financial Projections Statement released on December 18. This was to fund unanticipated student enrolment growth in 2013-14 bringing the total spending increase to $300 million.

Has the Barnett Government cut $183 million from education?

On August 20 the Education Minister in the WA Liberal Government, Peter Collier, announced an overhaul of WA public school funding and said there would be reductions to regional and central office positions and education assistants.

After questions about the changes by the WA Opposition education spokeswoman, Sue Ellery, on November 20 Mr Collier tabled a list of cuts in 15 areas totalling $120 million.

Mr Collier told parliament: "Funding for education has been increased by $300 million in 2013-14 to a total of $4.4 billion. Despite this increase, schools will still be required to make some savings."

One of the largest items on the list is a "leave liability levy", which charges schools a levy to help pay for the replacement of staff. This levy was included in the state budget on August 8.

Another significant cut has been to "cash resources", leaving schools with less money for goods and services used in classrooms such as stationery. There are also cuts to some school support programs that focus on literacy, numeracy and children with learning difficulties.

Fact Check asked federal Labor education shadow minister Kate Ellis to substantiate the figure of $183 million in cuts to education in WA.

Her spokesman forwarded the mid-year budget update, saying it included a $25 million cut to education spending.

Fact Check has examined the document and found the WA Government allocated a further $40 million in December to fund unanticipated student enrolment growth. As mentioned above, this brought the increase in the overall 2013-14 education budget to $300 million.

Ms Ellis's office also pointed to answers provided by the Education Department on October 7 to questions on notice from the Standing Committee on Education and Health, saying these showed $41 million in cuts.

The document does list savings being made from cuts to individual programs. But it opens by saying: "It is important to note that the overall budget for education has increased by approximately $300 million [in] 2013-14 to a total of $4.4 billion."

In parliament on April 1, Mr Collier said: "I appreciate schools have had to tighten their belts this term. Having said that, we are talking about a 1.5 per cent on average cash resource reduction for each school. Our schools remain the highest resourced of any schools of any state in the nation and our teachers remain the highest paid teachers of any state in the nation."

On Fact Check's analysis, there have been cuts to some programs in education totalling at least $120 million, but overall state education spending has increased.

Have 360 teaching jobs 'gone'?

A spokesman for Mr Collier's office told Fact Check that last year there were approximately 21,000 full time equivalent teachers in the WA public education system, and the Government says it is committed to maintaining the same level of full time equivalent teachers in 2014 as in 2013.

"Overall there will not be a reduction in existing teacher full time equivalent numbers, as 2013 teacher full time equivalent numbers will be maintained in 2014 at the whole-of-department level," the department said.

The WA Opposition argues student enrolments were projected to rise by around 10,000, meaning around 350 new full time teaching staff should have been appointed.

Labor is counting this as a cut.

Have 350 teachers' aides and support staff 'gone'?

Mr Collier's spokesman told Fact Check 350 education assistant positions were ear-marked to be reduced.

Education assistants will no longer be provided for kindergarten to year two students diagnosed with anaphylaxis reaction to nuts.

Mr Collier said education assistants provided solely for students with anaphylaxis were no longer required because an online allergy training and support program was now in place for school staff.

Government documents show there have also been cuts to aides for Indigenous programs.

Did Abbott and Pyne give the green light?

Mr Collier announced his changes to the 2013-14 state education budget on August 20.

Mr Abbott and Mr Pyne were still in opposition, just weeks away from the September 7 federal election.

A spokesman for Mr Pyne told Fact Check Mr Shorten's claim was "entirely factually incorrect". "The decisions of the Barnett Government referred to by Mr Shorten was announced when he [Mr Shorten] was federal minister for education", he said.

History of the Gonski reforms

In April 2013, former prime minister Julia Gillard launched the Gonski plan guaranteeing $14.5 billion of federal funding into Australian schools. Ms Gillard's plan was that in exchange for an increase in federal funding state governments had to agree not to remove any money from state education budgets.

This would guarantee schools would benefit from the reforms.

Over the following months, the Labor government managed to sign up fives states and territories, but Western Australia did not sign up.

A spokeswoman for Ms Ellis said: "These education cuts in WA couldn't have happened under Labor’s Gonski model which the [Coalition] Government promised to deliver". During the federal election Mr Abbott said the Coalition was on a "unity ticket" with Labor on education.

But this argument fails to take into consideration that Western Australia did not sign up to the plan.

In December 2013 Mr Pyne announced an "in-principle agreement" with Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory to provide $1.2 billion in federal education funding with "no strings attached".

Mr Pyne has repeatedly said he would remove "control and command" from Canberra and the Coalition education policy says: "We will respect the traditional role of state and territory governments."

In the case of Western Australia, the in-principle agreement made no difference to state education funding. Firstly, the state government had already announced its changes. Secondly, it did not sign up to the Gonski reforms and was always free to make cuts, as it was when Labor was in power federally.

There is no way of knowing whether Western Australia would ever have signed up to the Gonski deal if Mr Pyne had not made concessions to the state and given it the funding with "no strings attached".

Furthermore in the case of Western Australia, the state budget is still increasing education spending by $300 million this year.

Mr Collier has made savings to some programs - of at least $120 million - which has led to a freeze in teacher numbers, and some teaching assistants and resources have been cut. These cuts come when student enrolment numbers have increased by around 10,000 this year.

The verdict

Changes to the WA education budget were announced last year, when Labor was in power federally. Western Australia didn't sign up to the the Labor Gonski plan which would have stopped the state government from cutting its own education budget.

It is incorrect to blame Mr Pyne and Mr Abbott, and the education budget is still growing.

Mr Shorten's claim doesn't check out.

Sources

Topics: schools, education, alp, federal-government, bill-shorten, wa, perth-6000, australia

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