Federal Election Result

With the re-election of the Liberal National Party Government, the SPC calls on Scott Morrison to revisit the issue of education funding. The President of the SPC, Chris Presland, said sector blind funding was crucial to the educational success of all students:

“Public schools play a crucial role in educating and providing opportunities for our children and we call on the government to commit to fair funding for public schools. We need to move beyond seeing education funding as some sort of political point scoring device and understand that a better funded education system leads to a stronger economy and a better society for many years into the future. It needs to be seen as an investment not a cost.”

Mr Presland said it was also crucial to address the need for transparent education funding:

“We need a fair funding model that works for all students across Australia. Education is key to ensuringAustralia’s long-term social prosperity and as a result we need a rational, fair and evidence based approach to education funding which enables all Australian children to reach their full potential. For public schools, a sector blind funding model has the potential to change lives and transform the educational outcomes of our students. It would allow teachers and school leaders to provide the resources needed to better meet the individual learning needs of students and represents the kind of investment we need to see to fund schools into the future.

To govern on behalf of Australians is an enormous privilege and the newly elected government must address the inequities in our education system and what’s needed to create a fair go for all students. Mr Morrison talks about the fair go and yet this is what is missing in current education funding. It’s not simply a case of more funding, it’s about fair funding to prevent inequality becoming further entrenched and to stop public school students missing out. Public schools educate the majority of Australian children and we need a government prepared to invest in public schools, not one that cuts funding.”