This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old



Tony Abbott has categorically ruled out means-testing wealthier families before they can access public schooling, amid confusion of Coalition’s position on the issue.

The schools chapter of the discussion paper on reform of the federation, leaked to Fairfax Media, puts forward a number of proposals for changing Australia’s school system, including making parents who can afford it pay a fee for public schooling. Abbott has moved to kill off criticism by ruling that out.

“The government’s position ... is there is no such proposal, none whatsoever. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever,” the prime minister told parliament during question time. “We are not proposing to means test the parents of children attending public schools. Full stop.”

Abbott’s sentiments echoed that of his education minister Christopher Pyne, who took to Twitter on Monday morning to reject the suggestion.

“The Australian government does not and will not support a means test for public education. Full stop. End of story,” Pyne wrote.



Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) The Australian Government does not and will not support a means test for public education. Full stop. End of story. #auspoI

He earlier tweeted that charging fees to attend schools was a matter for the states and territories, potentially leaving the door open for such changes to occur.

The tweet was a departure from comments made by Pyne’s deputy, Simon Birmingham, just minutes earlier.

“We don’t want to pre-empt the outcome [of the federation white paper],” Birmingham told Sky News, adding that there had been a “hysterical over-reaction” to the proposals leaked overnight.

Abbott himself had contributed to the confusion by first telling reporters in Canberra on Monday that the Commonwealth had “no role at all” in the running of public schools.



“Public schools are absolutely the business of the state and territory governments, and whether state or territory governments choose to change the way schools are funded in their states and territories is absolutely a matter for them,” Abbott said.

“I think it’s good that some of the states and territories at least are thinking creatively about how they can responsibly fund their operations,” he continued. “But any question of how you fund public schools in terms of what contribution parents might be expected to make is absolutely a matter for the states and territories.”

Another proposal in the discussion paper is to have the Commonwealth pull out of schools funding altogether. Public school funding is predominantly the domain of state and territory governments, with the federal government providing some funding for independent and private schools.



The federal government provided just under $15bn in 2014-15 to support the delivery of state education services, budget papers show.



We don’t want to pre-empt the outcome [of the federation white paper] Simon Birmingham

The federal president of the Australian Education Union, Correna Haythorpe, said that means-testing would end the “provision of free schooling in this country”.

“It is a fundamental right of every Australian to be educated in public schools free of charge and has been since the 19th century,” she said. “Mr Abbott cannot be allowed to get away with abandoning the funding of education or charging hundreds of thousands of parents to send their children to public schools.”

Acting shadow education minister Mark Butler said the Coalition was “walking away” from public schools.

“Equity in access to education is one of the cornerstones of Australia’s democracy, and Tony Abbott is doing the unimaginable and trying to tear it down,” he said. “There is no question that Tony Abbott is out to decimate our schools. The only decision left for him is how he will do it.”

“Tony Abbott wants to drag Australia back to the 1960s, before the federal government started funding schools,” Butler said.



Shadow citizenship minister Michelle Rowland told Sky News on Monday that the proposal to means-test amounted to a “public school co-payment”.

Greens education spokeswoman Penny Wright warned that schools funding should not be left to the “impoverished” states and territories.

“The federation paper is asking the wrong questions. It is looking at the political problem of who’s in charge and who gets the blame – not the policy problem of how we can make every school in Australia a great school.”

Australian school funding to remain below Gonski benchmark, figures reveal Read more

The discussion paper makes four proposals on how school funding can be reformed. It proposed that the Commonwealth pull out of funding schools all together, or alternatively, retain full control independent schools while the states fund public schools. The third option is to retain the funding status quo.

The fourth option is for the federal government to provide funding for all school students based on needs and the ability of families to contribute.

The federally-led discussion paper said: “It could do this by providing a funding contribution based on a national resourcing standard, adjusted for student need and the ability of families to make a contribution, using the existing funding mechanism where payments are made through the states and territories.”

“The states and territories would have the option to ‘top up’ funding to government schools, if they wished to do so, to ensure all public school students, regardless of the ability of families to make a contribution, were able to attend for free,” the paper said.

South Australian premier Jay Weatherill dismissed the suggestions as part of a broader conversation, rather than set-in-stone policy, saying it is “only a discussion paper”.

“We’ve been asking them to canvas the broader range of options,” Weatherill told independent South Australian publication InDaily on Monday morning. “There’s a broad debate going on about Commonwealth/state relations, which is a good thing.”

The comments were lauded by both the prime minister and education minister during question time.



The 2011 Gonski review of funding admitted that there was duplication and waste in the existing schools funding model, but clearly noted that there was a role for both state and federal governments.



“Australia needs effective arrangements for funding schools across all levels of government— arrangements that ensure resources are being provided where they are needed,” the review said.

“The funding arrangements should be aimed at achieving an internationally competitive high standard of schooling, where outcomes are not determined by socioeconomic status or the type of school the child attends, and where the Australian government and state and territory governments work in partnership to meet the schooling needs of all Australian children.”