Catholic schools were to get billions under Turnbull deal

Scott Morrison says Catholic school funding is “unfinished business”, amid reports of a plan to give Catholic schools $4.4bn.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Sean Davey

Scott Morrison says Catholic school funding is “unfinished business”, amid reports that the government will give the Catholic and independent sectors an extra $4.4bn over the decade.

The Australian had previously revealed that Mr Turnbull – ahead of him losing the Prime Minister’s job - was hopeful of securing a deal to pump billions of dollars back into the Catholic and Independent schools sector over the next decade.

The deal, which according to the Herald Sun is set to be adopted by the Morrison government under new education minister Dan Tehan, was contingent on Catholic education authorities adopting a needs-based funding model that took into consideration parents’ capacity to pay.

As The Australian earlier revealed, Mr Turnbull and Senator Birmingham had held crisis talks with Catholic and Independent schools administrators to broker a “peace deal”, to avoid a backbench revolt against the former Prime Minister’s leadership.

Asked whether he was concerned about the second significant policy leak in as many days, after the Herald Sun yesterday published details of a $7.6 billion roads and rail package aimed at saving marginal seats, Mr Morrison said: “I’m not terribly concerned at all”.

“This is unresolved business at this point. It’s unfinished business,” Mr Morrison said of the school funding issue.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am looking with Dan Tehan, the minister, and we have been working constructively with the sector, the independent schools sector, the Catholic schools sector, for this simple reason: I believe parents should have the opportunity to have greater choice in education.

“That’s always been a fundamental belief of the Liberal and National parties, and we want to make sure that the system we go forward continues to respect that choice and ensures that we can have quality education and education that parents can choose from right across the country.

“So, that’s unfinished business. And when we make decisions on those, and when we reach a conclusion on those, then I’ll announce it.

“And until then, the government’s policy remains as it is.”

“Morrison’s honeymoon has been shorter than a Las Vegas wedding”

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the leaks showed Mr Morrison’s honeymoon period as prime minister had been “shorter than a Las Vegas wedding”.

“The reality is that when it comes to disunity, it hasn’t stopped,” Mr Shorten said.

“What we’re seeing is the government leaking on itself, taking announcements away, taking wind out of Mr Morrison’s sails.

Mr Shorten said the bigger issue was that Mr Morrison had voted to cut $17bn from schools.

“Scott Morrison voted to cut funding to Catholic schools,” Mr Shorten said.

“Scott Morrison has voted to cut funding to government schools.

“When Labor said that there has been a cut, Mr Morrison and others tried to shout us down and attack us, as is their style.

“The reality is there has been a $17 billion cut to schools, but what Mr Morrison shouldn’t do is just look at Catholic schools and not worry about public education.

“Labor’s got a policy to restore funding to low-fee Catholic schools. We’ve also got a policy to make sure that our state schools are great schools.

“If the government simply looks after one sector in education, and ignores the parents and kids in public education, well, I think that would be a disgrace.”

‘ScoMo attacking public schools’

Labor frontbencher Brendan O’Connor has accused Scott Morrison of attacking the public school system, after a leak revealing the government will give the Catholic and independent sectors an extra $4.4bn over the decade.

The revelation comes a day after the Prime Minister said he sends his daughters to an independent Baptist school because he is opposed to “respectful relationships” programs being taught in state schools.

The $4.4bn is part of a Turnbull government deal that was only days from being agreed upon when the Liberal leadership spill took place, the Herald Sun is reporting.

The deal, which is set to be adopted by the Morrison government under new education minsiter Dan Tehan, was contingent on Catholic education authorities adopting a needs-based funding model that took into consideration parents’ capacity to pay.

Mr O’Connor said the details of the deal had only come to public attention due to systematic leaking from Liberals.

“A sinking ship has leaks, and this is a sinking ship, the Morrison government, and we’re going to see I think continually from this point on more disclosure of internal decision-making by the former prime minister,” Mr O’Connor told Sky News.

“As for their relationship with the Catholics, they’ve been quite, I think abrasive and rude towards the Catholic Education Office.

“They were talking about taking pieces of silver most recently by the former education minister.

“That really is a disrespectful metaphor, you would think, to Catholic representatives.”

Brendan O'Connor with Bill Shortenin parliament. Picture: AAP.

Mr O’Connor said the bulk of the money the Coalition had withdrawn from schools had come from the public sector.

“None of that’s been redressed, so of the $17bn, 85 per cent of the shortfall is in the public school system, and of course I haven’t heard Scott Morrison say he has any concern for public schools, in fact he attacked the public school system only recently by saying he wouldn’t send his kids there, as if there was something wrong with the public school system.”

Mr Morrison was yesterday asked about a “respectful relationships” program being taught in state schools, which requires children to select character cards and engage in role play.

According to 2GB host Alan Jones, one of the characters involved was 17-year-old “Megan”, who lives in the city, works at a local cafe, has had 15 sexual partners and describes herself as bisexual.

Asked whether such role play would occur in classrooms under his prime ministership, Mr Morrison said it was not occurring at the school his nine and 11-year-old daughters Abbey and Lily attend.

“That’s one of the reasons I send them there,” Mr Morrison said. “They’re in an independent Baptist school.”

Asked whether the respectful relationships program made his “skin curl”, Mr Morrison said: “Well it does for this reason: the values I have as a parent, that (Morrison’s wife) Jenny and I have as a parent, I mean they’re the values, that’s where you get your values from.”

“I don’t want the values of others being imposed on my children in my school, and I don’t think that should be happening in a public school or a private school, and that’s why I want to protect the religious freedoms of independent schools to ensure that they can continue on in providing at least that choice, but when it comes to public schools, as you know, they’re run by the state governments,” Mr Morrison said.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the Turnbull government had been working on a “resolution” with the Catholic sector over school funding.

“Simon Birmingham, the previous minister for education was working on that project, and now Dan Tehan is doing the same, so there’s a continuum between the Turnbull government’s approach and the Morrison government’s approach,” the Turnbull loyalist said.

“I would like to see that resolved. I think everyone would, most particularly the parents of children in Catholic schools.

“What we tried to do in the Turnbull government was establish a needs-based funding model rather than all the special deals that Bill Shorten was responsible for when he was the minister for education ... which of course is the hallmark of Bill Shorten.

“He thinks everything can be solved with a deal. He’s already offered the Catholics a deal some time ago, but we will see resolution of that hopefully in the short term.”

Leak reveals Catholic schools fix

Catholic and independent schools were set for an extra $4.4 billion over the next decade under a Turnbull government deal that was only days from being agreed upon when the Liberal leadership spill took place.

The deal was contingent on Catholic education authorities adopting a needs-based funding model that took into consideration parents’ capacity to pay.

It is reported today by the Herald Sun that the offer will now be picked up by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said it was “extraordinary” that leaking, division and dysfunction were clearly continuing in the Liberal Party.

“Secondly, 85 per cent of the cuts the government has made in the first two years hit the public school system,” Ms Plibersek told ABC radio.

“The idea that they would have a peace deal with just the Catholics and the independents, but not the public sector, is completely unacceptable, and absolutely would have reignited the school funding wars.

“Labor’s commitment is to restore every dollar of the $17 billion cut from our schools, and the neediest schools will get the most, and a lot of them are in the public sector.”

Ms Plibersek will today announce a $174 million package which would be invested over the next decade to enable students from areas of Australia with low levels of tertiary education to attend university.

She said that in combination with Labor’s proposal to uncap university places, the policy would result in an extra 235,000 students getting degrees over 12 years.

The Australian has previously revealed Mr Turnbull was within days of securing a deal to pump billions of dollars into the Catholic and independent sectors.

Catholic Education Melbourne claimed the Gonski 2.0 funding model would have stripped $3.4bn over a decade.

Before Gonski 2.0, the Catholic dioceses were given a lump sum, and it was at their discretion how to distribute it.

A review of Gonski 2.0 had found that the funding model’s original projections needed changing. Conducted by businessman Michael Chaney, the review’s recommendations — which the Herald Sun reported were part of the Turnbull deal — included that funding be linked to a school’s socio-economic ­status, based on tax data of its parents’ income.

The $4.4bn deal would mean that schools that benefited from the recommendations of the Chaney review could move to the new funding model from next year, and that those that ­financially suffered from it could keep their socio-economic status from 2011 until 2027.