Catholic schools commission takes aim at Greens ‘myths’ over private school funding poll
Nearly a third of private school parents believe they shouldn’t receive any public money at all, according to new polling, but the Catholic school sector argues they’ve been “misrepresented”.
Education
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The Albanese government is facing renewed calls from the Greens to cut back on “government largesse” for Catholic and independent schools, as a new survey reveals nearly a third of private school parents believe they shouldn’t receive any public money at all.
More than three in five NSW parents believe the way public and private schools are funded is unfair, new polling commissioned by the Greens shows, with a quarter of those surveyed “strongly agreeing” that the system is designed to benefit wealthier families.
The nationwide study sampled the views of just over 1000 public and private school parents, with kids in Kindergarten to Year 12, in August and September last year.
It found the majority of families want greater restrictions on how private schools operate when receiving taxpayer dollars.
When asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement “private schools that receive government money should not be able to charge fees”, 69 per cent of NSW respondents agreed, of which 28 per cent of “strongly” agreed.
An even greater majority agreed that private schools that receive government funding should not be able to pick and choose which students they accept, with 78 per cent of parents in agreement.
The federal government is deep in negotiations with the states and territories on new bilateral school funding arrangements, after having delayed a new National School Reform Agreement by a year to conduct an independent review.
Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne, the minor party’s education spokeswoman, said the federal government has “no excuse” to continue delaying full funding of public schools, given Tasmania is now Australia’s sole jurisdiction without a Labor government.
“This poll shows that … even parents of private school kids acknowledge that the system is rigged in their favour,” she said.
“Under Labor and the Coalition, elite private schools have for decades been subsidised with billions of dollars of government largesse, while the public system has languished.
“If Labor is genuine about leaving no one behind then fully funding public schools is a great inflation-neutral way to reduce the cost burden on families and give our kids a brighter future.”
National Catholic Education Commission executive director Jacinta Collins took issue with the survey’s methodology and use of the umbrella term ‘private’.
Catholic and independent schools being “lumped together … misrepresents the nature of non-government schools”, she said.
“School funding is a complex issue and perceptions of school funding are easily influenced by political and media commentary that presents the non-government school sector as a wealthy and elite ‘private’ sector.
“The reality is much further than the myths continually presented by the Greens.”
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