David Gonski, Labor's school funding reforms architect, attacks Coalition decision to cut education spending

Updated

The chairman of the Gillard government's key report into school funding, David Gonski, has attacked the Abbott Government's decision to do away with many of the changes to education outlined in his report.

In a speech in Melbourne on Wednesday evening Mr Gonski said he hoped the Government will reconsider its decision and said he regretted putting a dollar figure on the amount that should be spent on schools.

The Government will cut $30 billion out of school funding over the next 10 years by increasing spending at a lower rate.

"This is unfortunate. I sincerely hope that in the period between now and 2017 the Federal Government will change the presently budgeted position," he said.

Mr Gonski said the difference between well-funded schools and those in low socio-economic areas is enormous.

"To say that many of the schools in the state systems needed further assistance, both in money and tender loving care, is to me an understatement," he said.

"Governments need to embrace the importance of school education to individuals and to the productivity of our society.

"There needs to be a commitment to a properly funded needs-based aspirational system and a failure to do so, in my opinion, would be amazingly to our detriment."

One of the key planks of the Gonski review was that an extra $5 billion a year be spent on education with the bulk of that money going to state schools.

The review said funding should be needs based, with an equal allocation for each student and a loading for disadvantaged students.

Putting dollar figure on reforms 'clouded response' to review

Mr Gonski said he now regrets putting a dollar figure on how much should be spent.

"In retrospect, the decision to mention the number clouded the entire response to our review," he said.

"Major media outlets talked of further billions for education and no doubt those who had to find the amount were very bluntly reminded of what was involved.

"In fact, our review was more subtle than an ask just for more money. Lost in the discussion for more money were the central tenents of our review.

"We advocated funding to be unified, given by state and federal governments to the different sectors together rather than states substantially funding their school systems and the bulk of the Commonwealth funding being as a consequence paid to independent and faith-based schools.

"We wanted a transparent method for determining funding which was based on aspirational education outcomes rather than last year's costs."

Mr Gonski said the Government's Commission of Audit recommendation to not proceed with the last two years of Gonski funding is a backwards step.

"Embracing the concept of needs-based aspirational funding in an environment of wanting to save money would be better served in my view by concentrating on that aspect, rather than seeking to go backwards to resourcing based on historic figures indexed, which is effectively what we had prior to 2014," he said.

Mr Gonski said the commission got it wrong to say needs-based funding arrangements are too complex and not based on a detailed analysis of the costs of delivering education.

"I don't believe our concepts were particularly complex. They most definitely were based on funding an outcome which was costed by taking the actual costs of the schools who were achieving what we took as the initial aspiration," he said.

"In any event, to reject an advance in effective distribution of monies merely because it is complex, in my view, is too simplistic."

The high-profile businessman also says philanthropy should play a greater role in the education sector.

Topics: education, access-to-education, government-and-politics, budget, australia

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