This article by Save Our Schools’ Trevor Cobbold was published in May 2022, during the federal election campaign. It outlines how private schools have been massively over-funded at the expense of public schools, and how Labor has chosen to continue this over-funding.
Labor Chooses Privilege Over Fairness in Education
Labor has chosen privilege over fairness in school funding. It has chosen to continue the massive over-funding of Australia’s wealthiest schools and dumped its commitment to fully fund public schools. It is a craven capitulation to the powerful interests in private schools. It denies resources to those most in need. Fairness in school funding has missed out in Labor’s election campaign.
Labor has endorsed Morrison’s massive over-funding of private schools, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the most exclusive schools in Australia. Labor Education Shadow Minister, Tanya Plibersek, recently said that “Catholic and independent schools will not have their funding touched” by a Labor Government. In doing so, she endorsed the rapacious greed of the wealthy for taxpayer resources.
Exclusive Independent schools are massively over-funded by the Morrison Government. Just 50 schools will be over-funded by nearly $400 million from 2022 to 2028 under the current funding arrangements, an average of $8 million per school (see Table below).
Read the full article on SOS website
Coverage on ABC TV
ABC TV’s 7:30 covered the issue of the private/public school divide on 9 May 2022. The report includes comment from the Government, Opposition, unions and education expert Pasi Sahlberg. It also features comments from a very articulate Year 9 student at Hume Central Secondary College in Broadmeadows.
