Qld final state to sign up to schools funding agreement, mints extra $2.8bn

An olive branch in the form of a Sicilian favourite was the clincher in getting the final state to sign on to a “historic” schools funding agreement.

Queensland has become the final state to sign on to a historic public schools funding deal, with state Premier David Crisafulli minting a $2.8bn decade-long deal with the Commonwealth.

The pre-budget agreement will support the state’s 560,000 public school students and will boost federal funding of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) by an additional 5 per cent to 25 per cent.

This means funding of public schools will be at 100 per cent of the SRS, as called for by the Gonski Review.

Previously, the state held off signing the agreement over the 5 per cent shortfall.

While the Commonwealth eventually agreed to increased funding, as it did with NSW, Anthony Albanese warned it wasn’t a “blank cheque” and will be tied to boosting rates of year 12 completion, lifting education outcomes, increasing mental health support and rolling out mandated teaching practices.

States will also be called to reduce the number of students scoring “needs additional support” in the NAPLAN tests by 10 per cent by 2030 and increase the proportion of students with a “strong and exceeding proficiency”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Queensland Premier David Crisafulli were all smiles announcing the deal. Picture: NewsWire/ John Gass

The Prime Minister said the funding would also help ensure children didn’t get left behind.

“What we know from the testing that occurs is that if you wait until a child reaches the middle of primary school, it’s too late,” he said.

“Part of this agreement and the tying of this funding is for year 1 testing and making sure that if a person needs that one-on-one help or small group help to make sure that they’re not left behind, they get that really early on, they get to catch up.”

Mr Crisafulli said Queensland public schools faced challenges due to their “decentralised” and sprawling geography and “large portion of rural and regional and Indigenous schools”.

“We have challenges because of that, not just geographically, but challenges that are historically been baked in,” he said.

“As a result, our NAPLAN results aren’t what we have wanted to see in recent years.

“What this does is give us a decade-long commitment to be able to turn the funding shortfall around and with that will come the ability to turn those results around.”

Education Minister Jason Clare said Queensland coming on-board was the “last piece in the puzzle”, with the Commonwealth set to inject an extra $16.5bn nationally over the next 10 years.

“This money is tied to real and practical reforms to help children who fall behind to catch up and keep up, ultimately help more young people finish high school,” he said.

“It’s bigger than that. It’s about helping to make sure that every child gets a great start in life.”

Mr Albanese said the funding was not a ‘blank cheque’ and would be tied to outcomes. Picture: NewsWire/ Pema Tamang Pakhrin

In a moment of levity, Mr Crisafulli said negotiations had been “strong,” but helped with an olive branch in the form of two cannolis.

“Of course, there’s been some strong negotiations. Two people of Italian descent, you would expect that, but there’s nothing that can’t be solved over a bit of common sense and a cannoli,” he said.

Mr Albanese confirmed the exchange of the Sicilian pastries.

“I can confirm that the Premier has on two occasions given me cannolis and I haven’t declared them and I declare them now, just in case I get into trouble,” he said.

“We regard that as a cultural thing rather than anything else and they’re fine cannolis.”

The Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the education sector was now anxiously awaiting to hear if Opposition Leader Peter Dutton would back the funding.

“The missing piece right now is what Peter Dutton is going to do and that’s particularly relevant for Queensland – his home state,” she told NewsWire.

“We’ve not got all of these new agreements over the last two months and our members want to know if he’s going to back this in if he forms government.”

Queensland Teachers’ Union vice-president Cresta Richardson said the funding would help teacher retention rates and alleviate workload issues faced by staff.

“We have quite significant shortages in Queensland. We even have them in the (metro) southeast corner, but they are more felt in the regional areas along the coast and in rural and remote and isolate communities,” she said.

“That really creates a lot of pressure on the teachers who are there to pick up the load and go with it, and that’s not sustainable.”