Page 3843 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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On national and international measures of student performance, the ACT is the highest, or among the highest, performing jurisdictions and countries. ACT students perform above the national average in all literacy and numeracy areas assessed.
All schools, government and non-government, can share in the credit for these great outcomes and it is clear that all schools are important in achieving these high standards for our students.
The Greens will be supporting the amendment moved by Mr Barr, as this far better reflects the status of, and appropriate direction for, education policy in the ACT. It does not play politics with the government and non-government sector. It moves beyond that divide and provides us, I believe, with a far brighter vision of the future.
All families deserve access to high-quality education. The educational outcomes for a child should not depend on the wealth of their parents. The Greens’ policy is that, as a wealthy nation, we should be providing a high standard of education to everyone. A high-quality, free and equitable education is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. We believe that everyone should have access to an education that meets their needs and aspirations and gives them the skills and capacity to participate in our society. School funding should be based on need and allocated in a transparent manner. Those schools that need extra resources to achieve better outcomes should be given them. This is undoubtedly the fairest and most equitable way of allocating limited resources.
I think that is a fair, compassionate, proper way to go. I am not quite sure about Mr Doszpot’s wander off into talks about socialism, but for me this is the compassionate, fair, equitable way to go.
Long-term prosperity lies with knowledge. The more innovative and creative we are, the more capacity we have to respond to the challenges before us and the more prosperous we will be.
We are pleased that the Gillard government, if they retain government, have undertaken to review, at the end of 2013, the current funding model, which has been criticised by educational experts as being flawed in that it is inequitable and unsustainable. We welcome this review and look forward to reviewing submissions with our national colleagues and being involved in discussions with stakeholders so that a more appropriate funding model is developed for the future.
It is essential that we get the balance right, supporting both private and, in particular, less well-off independent and Catholic schools, and our public schools. The Greens’ view is that the funding review should be undertaken as soon as possible. Delays perpetuate the inequity, and the most important thing we can do as quickly as possible is move to a needs-based model that provides more resources for those that need them the most.
As we know, education funding is provided by both the commonwealth and the ACT. Whilst there should be equity in each level of funding, it is important to look at both
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