States struggle in Gonski vacuum

LABOR'S education reforms hung in the balance last night, as bewildered states pondered who would take ministerial control.

LABOR'S education funding reforms hung in the balance last night, as bewildered states pondered who would take ministerial control and whether existing agreements would be honoured and new deals brokered.

Julia Gillard's dream of seamless national reform by June 30 was effectively dead, with Tasmania the only holdout state expressing optimism it could strike a deal by deadline day.

While Kevin Rudd yesterday praised the former prime minister's efforts on the Gonski reforms, the states lined up to express concern about the scheme's future and whether the commonwealth would honour deals.

The Prime Minister's office did not respond to The Australian on the future of the funding overhaul.

Victoria, the key holdout state, stressed yesterday that it wanted $7 billion from the commonwealth to sign on, conceding the lack of a federal minister meant it needed to hear directly from Mr Rudd.

A spokesman for NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the first state to sign on to the Gonski reforms intended to hold the federal government to its word on the deal.

The situation means that there could be different school funding systems between states and even between different school systems.

When NSW signed the agreement, it inserted a "no disadvantage" clause that the federal government could not sweeten the offer to another state without offering NSW the same deal.

NSW bureaucrats are now examining the proposal of the Victorian government to see if it exceeds the terms of its own.

"The NSW government will be seeking advice on whether the Victorian proposal honours our heads of agreement and the no-disadvantage clause we negotiated," Mr Piccoli's spokesman said.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings was scrambling yesterday to salvage the $400m deal she was about to sign with Ms Gillard.

Ms Giddings is seeking talks with Mr Rudd, whose approach to federal-state relations she has previously attacked, on whether her informal agreement will be honoured. "Tasmania remains ready to sign up to Gonski the minute the federal government formally responds to our outstanding concerns," she said.

Former school education minister Peter Garrett said the Gonski reforms needed to be pursued.

"This is a fair education funding system, it's one that has equity and excellence at its heart," he told parliament.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: MARK COULTAN, NICOLAS PERPITCH, ANDREW FRASER, AMOS AIKMAN, SARAH MARTIN