Page 3558 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 18 August 2010
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“the conflict between the Greens’ education policy as outlined in their ‘Australian Greens Education Policy’ issued in March 2010 and the recent statements of Greens’ Senate candidate, Lin Hatfield Dodds, on 10 August 2010 and Greens’ Leader, Senator Brown, on 15 August 2010 and 18 August 2010 at the National Press Club; and
(2) calls on the Australian Greens to clarify their position on schools funding as a matter of urgency.”.
I have made one clarification to this amendment, given Ms Hunter has now made what I believe to be a reasonably clear statement on behalf of the ACT Greens in relation to their position. So excuse my little handwritten addition there in paragraph (2), but this really now goes to the point of the Australian Greens’ policy position. I think Ms Hunter has outlined the position of the ACT Greens eloquently, and I do not take the same issue that Mr Seselja does with the position of the ACT Greens. I think it is now fairly clearly on the record that they do not support the position that is outlined in the March national policy statement, and they will not be supporting cutting funding from ACT non-government schools or any change to funding for ACT non-government schools in advance of the national schools funding review.
Ms Hunter has outlined some important principles that I agree with in relation to needs-based school funding, regardless of the sector—public or private—but looking at the needs of individual schools and recognising that there are, indeed, some low-fee independent and Catholic schools that require additional assistance, and that their school results, as outlined in NAPLAN 2008 and 2009, demonstrate the need for targeted funding support for those schools.
There are schools that are in need of targeted additional support in the public system and in the Catholic system, and there are also one or two in the independent system that require that targeted support. So what I believe we are seeing this afternoon is an emerging consensus in relation to the ACT’s approach to this national schools funding review to move to a more needs-based system.
It is very clear from the results we have seen for ACT schools that the bulk of new funding for schools in the ACT should be targeted towards those schools in the public and Catholic systems in particular that require additional support to lift literacy and numeracy standards. What I believe we have this afternoon, after many hours of debate, is consensus. I welcome that change in position from Ms Hunter and the ACT Greens. I think it is an important position. It means we have finally, at least in the context of the Labor Party and the Greens, now moved beyond the public versus private debate.
The invitation is now open to the Liberal Party to also move beyond this and to work with the government as we approach this national schools funding policy debate, to present a view as a parliament to the commonwealth government for a needs-based funding system, one that looks at improving the results and the outcomes for those students, regardless of whether they are in public schools, Catholic schools or independent schools, who are not meeting the national minimum benchmarks in terms
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