Trebling of Gonski offer to WA breaches NSW deal: Barry O'Farrell

JULIA Gillard's improved schools funding offer to WA appears to contravene the agreement she signed with NSW, Premier Barry O'Farrell says.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell

NSW Premier Barry OÂ’Farrell says an offer to Western Australia to induce it to sign up to the Gonski school funding deal is an apparent breach of his state's agreement with the federal government.

The federal government has boosted its offer to Western Australia, from $300 million to more than $920m, of which the Commonwealth would pay about $600m.

This would mean an extra $2.8 billion over the six-year life of the agreement, including about $1.9bn extra for government schools, about $360m extra for Catholic schools and about $480m extra for independent schools.

Despite this extra money, Western Australia remains sceptical of the offer.

As first revealed by The Australian, NSW signed up to the Gonski  funding deal only on the condition that the federal government would not cut any side deals with others states, and that the funding agreement would be on the same terms as offered to any other state.

Mr O’Farrell said: "Certainly the minister for education is pursuing with the federal government what appears to be a breach of the agreement that was signed with NSW, where at the press conference the prime minister clearly said the same deal that NSW was singing up to was available to other states and territories, no better, no worse."

The Prime Minister says the Western Australian offer is on the same terms as that to other states, but is just a recalculation of assumptions in the funding model, including the cost base for Western Australia schools.

The heads of agreement signed between Mr O’Farrell and Ms Gillard states that if there is any further agreement between the federal government and another state, NSW must not be worse off, and that NSW must be offered the same terms as other states.

It also says the funding for NSW must be ignored when it comes to deciding on dividing the GST revenue between states.

As the first state to sign up, and a conservative government, NSW’s signature has become vital for the Prime Minister’s attempt to get agreement from all states before her June 30 deadline.

So far only NSW and the ACT have signed up for the Gonski reforms.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had urged Mr O'Farrell not to do do.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman today took the extraordinary step of holding separate press conferences, one inside school grounds and the other outside the gates, to prove he's not politicking in schools.

The line has been drawn - the federal election campaign and the Gonski reforms are taboo in Queensland's public schools.

The ruling was enforced when Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett was banned from two Brisbane schools because he wanted to sell his Gonski reforms, which Queensland refuses to sign up to.

Mr Newman says holding a press conference at the Narangba State school today was not a double standard.

To prove it, he announced more funding for teacher aides inside the school grounds.

But three minutes later, two steps away from the school gate, he spoke about Gonski.

Mr Newman said there was a difference between politicking and announcing policy when he was questioned about the unusual move.

"I'm not here to undertake politics on school grounds as Mr Garrett was trying to do," he told reporters.

"We're not here to criticise another level of government, that is the difference.

"They were talking about having a debate about what they want to do versus what our position is."

Additional reporting: AAP