Gonski 2.0: Catholic schools coaching parents to pressure Greens to oppose deal
CATHOLIC schools are coaching parents to put intense pressure on the Greens to oppose Gonski 2.0. The legislation will be voted on this week.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
CATHOLIC schools are coaching parents to put intense pressure on the Greens to oppose Gonski 2.0.
The Turnbull government is expected to put legislation to a vote this week, and is negotiating with the Greens and other crossbenchers in the wake of Labor opposition to the revised school funding deal.
Greens MP Adam Bandt has already voted against the deal, which would provide $18.6 billion over the decade for schools.
Catholic education authorities are so concerned some have prepared and circulated papers to Melbourne Catholic school parents ahead of visits by Mr Bandt.
Holy Rosary Primary wrote that while it caters to “public housing and refugee and asylum-seeker communities” it is in the same funding category as the prestigious Geelong Grammar.
The government is negotiating with the Greens about speeding up the rollout of funding, which would mean an additional $5.4 billion over the decade.
It is understood Senator Nick Xenophon, with whom the government is also in discussions, would prefer a faster rollout. The government needs support from the Greens or from Mr Xenophon and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
The Greens will meet early this week to discuss options.
One proposal backed by the party is a national independent watchdog to decide on school resourcing, a change that would need Cabinet approval.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said he would not rush a decision “simply because the government wants to ... neutralise a tricky political issue”. Mr Xenophon said he hoped to resolve the issue this week to provide certainty for schools.
Nationwide overhaul needed to fix Australia’s housing crisis
The Business Council of Australia has come out swinging on the problems it says are driving up the cost of new homes across the country.
Artist used own paintings to push case to block gold mine
Indigenous artist Nyree Reynolds, whose application led to a gold mine in Blayney being put on ice, submitted her own paintings as evidence the mine should be blocked.