Page 666 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 22 February 2012
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What will this century bring for Australian education? What will this current national debate around the Gonski review bring for education in Canberra?
The ACT government believes that a history of contention, of “us versus them” politics, does not mean that we should stop pushing for change in education politics and policy. The case for change becomes even stronger when you realise that there is so much at stake, that such petty conflict so commonly obscures those most central to the whole process: the students.
That is why I am moving this amendment. I believe that in moderate Australia, in modern Australia, there is no longer an interest in “us versus them” warfare.
In Canberra we know our history. We know that this type of public against private schools debate that the opposition so enjoys is archaic and thoroughly unhelpful.
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, I remind you that you are on a warning.
DR BOURKE: As always, the Liberals have missed the point with their motion. Their concentration on the differences between the sectors, the differences between schools, makes them unable to grasp the real opportunities for education reform.
I do not believe that the review’s panel were very interested in going back to the past, back to the dark days when school policies were driven by divisive political interests, back to the place where the current ACT Liberals dwell. Instead, they were looking to achieve, or at the very least suggest, a viable path forward for better targeting funding for students in need.
I am convinced that the release of the Gonski review brings us closer to a time when federal school funding is delivered in a fairer, more equitable fashion, closer to a time when all Australian students are funded on an as-needs basis.
There is really only one way to do education policy, and that is to be informed by an evidence base—in short, to be guided by proper research and then act in consultation with the community. The Gonski review is in this mould. Its chair and panel members have long displayed a commitment to objective public policy. There is clear evidence that the review always intended to draw from the best research base across Australia and overseas, and also took it upon itself to allow extensive opportunity for all Australians with an interest in schooling to contribute. You just need to look at the number of contributions that were analysed and the length of the community consultation to know that this was the case. The panel undertook 18 months of consultation and research, visiting schools, visiting communities, taking hundreds of submissions from stakeholders.
The involvement of the ACT government in the process has been in a similar consultative vein. The previous minister provided a formal submission to the review’s panel which featured input from both the Catholic Education Office and the
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