Bill Shorten flags Victoria schools deal as an election weapon

ANNOUNCING the $12.2 billion schools deal with the Victoria, Bill Shorten flagged the agreement as a key election weapon.

ANNOUNCING the $12.2 billion Better Schools deal with the Victorian government in Melbourne today, Education Minister Bill Shorten flagged the state's agreement as a key election weapon.

Repeatedly describing the school funding reforms as a federal Labor achievement, Mr Shorten said the scheme was gathering support "across the political divide" from conservative state governments.

"We are very pleased that the Victorian government has stepped away from the politics and said 'Listen, we think that Labor's deal is a good deal,"' Mr Shorten said.

"We hear what's being said in the hurly burly of an election, but the Victorian government - admittedly a Coalition or a conservative government - has looked at our deal - Labor's deal on education - and said it's a good deal."

The agreement has shifted from Victoria's original demand that the Commonwealth contribute $7bn for its schools in a two-for-one funding deal which would have seen the state commit an extra $3.5bn.

It will now invest $5.4bn in extra funding over the six years of the agreement, while the Commonwealth pays $6.8bn.

Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said the state had decided to stop providing the Education Maintenance Allowance, which helps low-income families with the costs of education, from 2015 to meet the new funding arrangement.

"We've come up from our $3.5bn that we originally announced when we sat down and started negotiating," he said.

"We've actually found some extra funding to put into it and we've had to make some education savings to support that as well."

Mr Dixon said the agreement contained written assurances that Canberra would not intervene in the management of Victorian schools, a point which had been a main roadblock to an agreement.

"It's been a hard road but it's been worthwhile for the students in each individual school and it's been worthwhile for our system of education," he said.

"All aspects of our agreement now settle those issues that we had with a Canberra-centric education system."

Mr Shorten said there was little sign of progress in getting the Queensland government on board with the reforms, describing the Newman administration as "off on a frolic of its own".

"They have a siege mentality up there," he said.

"I think the real problem for Queensland is they don't want to match even what their fraternal political brothers and sisters in Victoria are doing.

"The Queensland government does not want to put up the sort of money (NSW) Premier O'Farrell has put up, that (Victorian) Premier Napthine has put up."