Napthine out to get more cash for education

THE Napthine government is trying to force a $7bn cash injection into its education system in a bid to profit from reform.

THE Napthine government is trying to force a $7 billion federal cash injection into its education system in an 11th hour bid to profit from national schools reform.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine yesterday detailed plans to contribute an extra $3.5bn in state funding for his schools over the next six years.

At the same time, he has requested the Gillard government provide double that amount as part of the two-for-one funding offer raised during negotiations with the states over the Gonski education reforms.

If agreed to by the Prime Minister, this would represent an extra $10.5bn to Victoria's education system during the next six years.

Dr Napthine has also called for the federal government's new education reform legislation to be amended to protect Victoria's devolved school management system. "Victoria emphatically rejects the centralised management approach proposed in the Gillard government's legislation which passed the Senate," he said.

Dr Napthine also said yesterday that the $3.5bn state contribution would remain over the six years, regardless of whether or not the federal government delivered on its end of the proposed deal.

The $3.5bn offer from 2013-14 to 2018-19 has put the onus back on Julia Gillard and significantly raised the stakes on education in Victoria.

Education was one of the central issues that Labor planned to campaign on against the Coalition at both the federal and state elections.

Dr Napthine wrote to Ms Gillard yesterday making a series of demands about what he claims is "an unprecedented attempt by the commonwealth government to control the running of individual schools, to the detriment of student achievement".

Labor's funding plan passed the Senate yesterday without amendment, with the Australian Education Bill and associated Australian Education (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) bill to progress for royal assent. Under Dr Napthine's demands, though, the government would be forced to amend the legislation to remove contentious elements such as those which he says give the commonwealth the power to determine the "ongoing policy requirements" that schools would need to meet to receive federal funding.

Victoria also opposes what it claims is the commonwealth's ability to prescribe the content of school reform plans and the withdrawal of funding from any state that fails to comply with a direction.

"Victoria's schools are the most autonomous in the country and the Victorian government is currently devolving greater power to school leaders and their communities," Dr Napthine said in his letter to Ms Gillard.

"The (legislation) would take power away from schools and place it in the hands of the commonwealth government."

Ms Gillard said she was willing to negotiate but said that Dr Napthine needed to make a commitment that he was pulling his policy weight.

"I very much welcome the step forward taken by the Premier of Victoria . . .," Ms Gillard said.

"Of course, the terms of the arrangement will be the same as the ones we have signed with NSW, South Australia and the ACT.

"The offer I've made is a good one, a basically two-for-one funding deal between the federal government and state government for Victoria."