Julia Gillard appeals for public backing for tough budget choices to fund schools reform

JULIA Gillard has called on Australians to get behind a $6.5 billion “national crusade” to give children a better education, but won't yet say how much the states will have to fund.

Julia Gillard

JULIA Gillard has called on the Australian people to get behind a $6.5 billion "national crusade" to give children a better education, but has refused to detail how much the states will have to fund.

In a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra outlining her government's response to the Gonski funding reforms, the Prime Minister said she would begin discussions with the states through the Council of Australian Governments process about funding their fair share.

Ms Gillard said she would “not be held to ransom” by states not committed to the school reforms.

“The independent panel (Gonski) challenged all governments to provide an extra $6.5 billion annually in today's money. Should this be done? I believe as a nation we should aim to make new money of this order available to our nation's schools,” she said. But Ms Gillard refused to give any more detail about what percentage of funding the states or her government would provide.

“I am not going to flag that publicly today,” she said.

The states, however, must put in their fair share.

“No sleight of hand, no fiddling of the books to substitute federal funding for cuts by the states,” Ms Gillard said. “And we should take the time necessary to get the right result.”

The Prime Minister said implementing the Gonski reforms - which will see the introduction of “benchmark” cash grants to schools for each student, with special loadings to address disadvantage and disability - would require some “tough budget choices”, but it should be done.

“I am prepared to make those choices but I want the Australian people to understand that today I am asking them to support not just our goals for school improvement but the tough budget choices that go with that,” she said.

Ms Gillard said she will lead the discussions with states over the funding reforms.

“I will personally lead these discussions and my aim is to settle the funding model through the Council of Australian Governments processes,” she said. “I want to conclude these discussions by the time of the first COAG meeting next year.”

Ms Gillard said she wanted Australian schools in the top five in the world by 2025.

The government's so-called national plan for school improvement will be phased in over six years from 2014.

The key goal to raise Australia's education system ranking would take 13 years.

Labor also plans to introduce a bill into parliament by the end of 2012 to “enshrine our nation's expectations about what we will achieve for our children”.

The Australian Education Act would state the nation's support for children's education as one of the entitlements of citizenship.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said he supported the Gonski proposals, but the question of funding was yet to be resolved.

“I can speak for New South Wales in that we do agree with the broad principles of Gonski; needs-based funding where those areas of disadvantage are individually targeted, student-based funding rather than school-based funding,” he told ABC radio.

“So yes, we agree with the principles. Money is always a question and those negotiations are yet to begin.”

Coalition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the schools plan's goals were too long-term.

“Essentially the Prime Minister is expecting us to believe a promise on the never-never,” he told reporters.

Mr Pyne said Ms Gillard was expecting the community to believe that children who had not yet been born would benefit from a policy that wouldn't take full effect until 2020, or and wouldn't be tested until 2025.

“This is an all feathers and no meat response.”

Tony Abbott said the government could not be trusted to deliver on the commitment.

“She can't say where the money is coming from, and Labor has form when it comes to school hit lists,” Mr Abbott said.

“This is a government that is all promise and no delivery.”

Mr Abbott also disputed Ms Gillard's stated goal of a world top five rating for Australia's school system.

“Our goal should be to be number one,” he said.

He said overhauling schools was not simply a matter of money but having better teachers and improving values and standards.

The Australian Greens said they would seek to amend new laws to make national goals for school education more ambitious.

Education spokeswoman Senator Penny Wright said the goal of reaching the top five nations in terms of school achievement by 2025 was not ambitious enough and the Greens would push for the timeframe to be halved.

The Australian Education Union urged the nation's political leaders to commit the required extra funding to ensure the success of the Gonski reforms.

“What is now required is for the federal government and state and territory leaders to demonstrate their commitment to our children and agree on the changes and additional investment required,” AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

“Our children should have first call on the budget, not be told there isn't the money available to deliver every one of them a high quality education.”