Coalition MPs threaten schools face-off

Government MPs are threatening a budget-day showdown over Malcolm Turnbull’s education funding overhaul.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher, warns that Catholic schools could face forced closures, larger class sizes and higher fees. Picture: Cameron Laird

Government MPs are threatening a budget-day showdown over Malcolm Turnbull’s education funding overhaul, as one of the ­nation’s most senior Catholics, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher, warns that Catholic schools could face forced closures, larger class sizes and higher fees.

Liberals and Nationals broke ranks yesterday to vent their anger over the $18.6 billion funding reform­, as they brace for a partyroom meeting on Tuesday that could overshadow the Prime Minister’s attempts to use the budget to reset the political agenda.

The education changes retain the Gonski needs-based funding model but some schools will lose money, leading MPs to fear any Mark Latham-style hit list will lead to an electoral backlash.

Funding for 24 elite private and Catholic schools will go backwards, while 353 schools will get a lower share and 9000 mostly government schools will receive more as the government seeks to level the playing field for all schools, regardle­ss of sector, over a decade.

Tony Abbott warned that the “very big” policy change, which had not yet gone to the partyroom, would be “pretty vigorously debated” when Coalition MPs meet next week, hours before the release­ of the budget.

“I just know that it’s been almost an article of faith in our party since the time of Menzies that we were the party that promoted parental choice in education,” the former prime minister told Sydney radio station 2GB. “We were the party that ­promoted choice in healthcare and I think it’s very important­ we maintain our trad­itional position as the party which respects freedom of choice in both education and health.’’

Education Minister Simon Birmingham rejected as an exaggeration a claim that Catholics were being singled out, but Archbishop Fisher said the church wanted “the best for every kid, not playing off one school against another or one family against another’’.

“The devil’s in the detail, it’s still very unclear what it all means,’’ he said. “If Catholic schools will bear the brunt of the redistribution, this could force school closures, larger class sizes and higher fee imposts on parents.’’

He said he ­supported needs-based funding, more spending on education and funding indexation.

“But education is not just about SES (socio-economic status); that’s why the ability of state and regional Catholic systems to distribute­ funds to meet local needs should remain.’’

Several marginal-seat MPs who have significant Catholic education constituencies told The Aust­ralian the funding shake-up was a “big problem”.

One Liberal MP said if “this isn’t fixed and soon”, there would be a partyroom showdown next week. “I have no idea what they are thinking … I can’t believe it,” the MP said.

Another Liberal said the education funding package was ­“absolutely outrageous” and declared more voters would “abandon” the party, as they urged Mr Turnbull and the Education Minister to reconsider the changes.

“How many times can we ­attack our own people? We whack them on super, on pensions, we whack them with income tax increases and now we want to whack our aspirationals who want to send their kids to school,” the MP said.

“More of our people will abandon us. They’ll either say, ‘We may as well go to Labor because this mob aren’t doing anything for us’, or they’ll drift to other right-wing parties like Cory Bernardi’s.”

The Catholic Education Office yesterday fielded a number of calls from Coalition backbenchers concerne­d about what their response would be. There are 1731 Catholic schools in Australia, enrolling 765,000 students.

The Catholic Education Commission held a national phone hook-up yesterday.

The view among members was that the government had been “disrespectful” by not consulting about the changes. They also said it was an attack on the autonomy of the Catholic system and based on “questionable” assumptions.

The government has pledged to fund 20 per cent of the School Resourcing Standard — the benchmark in the needs-based model — for government schools, up from 17 per cent. It will also fund 80 per cent of the SRS for non-government schools, up from 77 per cent. Schools will be brought into line over 10 years.

Catholic Education Melbourne executive director Stephen Elder said the model “short-changed’’ Catholic schools and was a ­“direct attack on parent choice’’, which meant “schools face the grim ­reality of significantly raising fees or cutting programs”.

Catholic Education’s director of the archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Ross Fox flagged that fees could rise or schools could close in the ACT. Sources said some Victorian Catholic schools might have to find up to $4000 in extra private funding per student, including higher fees.

The government ­rejected the calculation. Official Education Department figures estimate a $3424 per student increase for Victorian Catholic students over the decade, an 80 per cent increase.

The Victorian Catholic system will receive $1.1bn extra over 10 years, while the NSW Catholic system will receive an extra $918 million. In NSW, Catholic students receive a $3755 increase over the decade.

Senator Birmingham said 24 schools faced small reductions in funding over the next few years, “on a per-­student basis … of $1 or $2” for some schools. “The idea that this is a threat to small parish schools is quite ridiculous,’’ he said.

The minister plans to release a “calculator’’ so parents can look up whether their school’s funding will be affected by the changes but the latest Education Department data on funding makes it clear which schools could be in the firing line.

Schools receiving more than their share of the SRS include ­Sydney’s Loreto Kirribilli, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, St ­Ignatius College Riverview and St Aloysius’ College, as well as Daramalan in the ACT and Melbourne Grammar. Jewish schools have also expresse­d concern that their funding could be cut.

St Aloysius’ College headmaster Mark Tannock told The Australian the federal government needed to ensure low-fee paying Catholic schools were not unfairly disadvantaged by the changes. “Many of these schools service particularly disadvantaged communities,’’ he said.

NSW Liberal MP Craig Kelly warned that there was “potential for significant concerns in the community” as he recalled Mr Latham’s schools hit list in 2004.

“It’s good we’re putting extra funding into education but if the reports of some schools having their funding cut are correct, we obviously have to be very careful about that,” he said.

“That has a possibility of clouding what is otherwise a good and positive message.”

Several Coalition MPs were supportive of the funding shake-up, with regional Liberal Angus Taylor saying the 3.5 per growth for the Catholic sector was solid.

Bill Shorten indicated Labor could support some parts of the plan. “If Mr Turnbull wants to cut the funding of 24 elite schools and freeze the funding of 300 elite schools, we are up for that,” the Opposition Leader said.

The Greens are open to passing the measures.

Additional reporting: Tess Livingstone, Greg Brown