Private school parents’ vote hangs in the balance

More than half of parents with children in independent schools say cost of living is their biggest election issue.

More than 45 per cent of independent school parents who were polled said they would be less likely to vote for any policy that reduced funding to private schools.

More than half of parents with children in independent schools have named cost of living as their biggest election issue, with more than a quarter revealing they would have to cut back on essentials such as food or medicine should school fees increase in the next term of government.

More than 45 per cent of independent school parents who were polled said they would be less likely to vote for any party that reduced funding to private schools.

The polling by Insightfully on behalf of Independent Schools Australia, found 75 per cent of parents polled believed the economy would not improve over the next six months, while nearly 40 per cent of them believed it was headed in the wrong direction.

According to the survey of more than 500 current and prospective independent school parents, nearly 80 per cent said they would need to seriously adjust their household budget if private school fees increased by 15 per cent or more.

The research by ISA – which in February launched a nationwide campaign raising the spectre of private school funding cuts in any Labor-Greens power sharing arrangement – found that among independent school parents surveyed in February and March, 37 per cent were Coalition voters, 34 per cent supported Labor, 12 per cent intended to vote for the Greens and 11 per cent for independents.

However, after seeing comments by the Greens labelling private schools as “elite” and “overfunded”, support for the party dropped three points among all polled parents and five points among Green soft-voter parents.

ISA chief executive Graham Catt said the polling proved that private school families were not all baked-on Coalition voters or immune to the financial pressures facing the country. “The idea that families who choose independent school are wealthy elites … unaffected by the cost-of-living crisis is completely false,” he said.

“This data confirms that school choice isn’t just a personal decision, it’s a voting issue … Families deserve to be heard, and they deserve certainty in education policy, support and funding.”

School funding is a crucible issue for Labor and its biggest source of division with its state ALP counterparts.

The Greens are expected to push for ­reforms that would slash some independent schools’ funding in any power-sharing agreement with a minority Labor government.

ISA has been raising concern over the messaging on private schools by the Greens over the past year, with the minor party describing the private school system as “a leech on public education” and urging Labor to “immediately end government overfunding of wealthy private schools”.

“This election, politicians will have to decide whether they stand with families or against them. Our message is clear: we will fight for school choice. And we won’t let independent school families be ignored,” Mr Catt said.

“We need a commitment from politicians that they won’t support bad policies, based on ideology and misleading information, that hurt independent schools and the hundreds of thousands of families they serve.”

As part of its election campaign attacking Greens candidates and calling on a commitment from other parties not to cut private school funding, ISA is targeting 14 key seats including Brisbane, Griffith, Ryan, Melbourne, Wills, Goldstein and Wentworth.

Education Minister Jason Clare’s hotly contested seat of Blaxland will also be targeted with a suite of digital advertising across the western Sydney electorate, which has come into heightened focus for Labor because of its ­higher-than-average Muslim population.

Many Blaxland constituents are disillusioned with Labor thanks to its handling of the Middle East conflict, with new political outfit the Muslim Vote running its own candidate against Mr Clare.

Of the 1216 private schools across the country represented by ISA, many are Jewish and Muslim institutions and part of the communities Labor is seeking to appease ahead of the election.

ISA’s election campaign, which the peak body estimates will reach about 2.5 million teachers and family members of children at independent schools, will attack the “class war” being waged by the Greens.

Greens education spokeswoman Penny Allman-Payne said her party’s policy “funds every school in Australia to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard, regardless of whether they are public or private”.

“I think many people would be wondering why the private school lobby is campaigning against the Greens when we’re the only party fighting for a fully funded world-class education for all kids, no matter what school they attend,” she said.

The Australian Education Union has also launched a series of attacks over the years against the private school system, releasing reports showing what it claims is an unfair funding disparity with public schools.

In the 2022–23 financial year, total government funding for schools was nearly $86bn, which came to $24,857 per student in government schools and $14,561 per student in non-government schools.

This was compared to the 2021-22 financial year, where total funding sat at just under $79bn and government schools were given $22,511 per student while non-­government schools were allocated $14,032.