Labor ‘has thrown its principles out the door’: Birmingham

Simon Birmingham has accused Labor of betraying its values, after being interrogated over funding for Catholic schools.

Simon Birmingham in the Senate chamber in Canberra on Monday. Picture: AAP.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has accused Labor of betraying its values, after being interrogated by Catholic members of the Labor Party during Senate Question Time.

Senator Birmingham sparked outrage from the Victorian Catholic Education Office after he yesterday used a reference to Judas in response to the church’s campaign against the government’s school funding package.

The minister made the comments in a television interview yesterday following revelations Opposition Leader Bill Shorten had privately hailed the Catholic Education Office’s campaign in the Melbourne seat of Batman, which included robocalls to 30,000 households, as a key factor in Labor’s win in Saturday’s by-election.

In the interview, Senator Birmingham said that “across the rest of the country, Catholic Education is engaging very constructively with us”.

Asked whether Victoria was not being constructive, Senator Birmingham told Sky News: “Well there’s always somebody who can be bought by a few pieces of silver, but ultimately we’re going to get a solution here.”

The government maintains that all school sectors will be better off under its “Gonski 2.0” needs-based funding scheme, with no “special deals” for any particular sector.

Labor has sought to frame the policy as a $17bn cut to the amount the opposition has pledged to spend over the next decade if elected.

Victorian Labor senator Jacinta Collins, a devout Catholic, opened Question Time by asking the government’s leader in the Senate Mathias Cormann whether it had been appropriate for Senator Birmingham to “use an analogy from the Christian scriptures to compare the Catholic Education Office to Judas.”

Senator Cormann said the government’s school funding reforms put all schools on an equal footing for the first time.

“Ours is a genuinely needs-based funding system without special deals,” he said.

Senator Cormann cited a savage letter written by Australian Council of State School Organisations president Phillip Spratt to Labor leader Bill Shorten today, accusing him of offering a “spectacular special deal” to Catholic schools, and pursuing “irrational and illogical policy in the scrabble for votes”.

“Our government values the contribution of the Catholic education system, as we value the contribution of all parts of our education system and indeed, that is the position for the Minister for Education,” Senator Cormann said.

“But what I would say is the public school system across Australia is very concerned about the fact the Labor leader wants to reintroduce special deals when this government has been able to secure historic reforms putting it on a genuine needs-based foundation.

“Labor wants to go back to the discredited ways of the Gillard government, having a plethora of special deals. It is not the way we will proceed going forward.”

Senator Collins asked Senator Cormann whether Catholic Education Melbourne director Stephen Elder was right to say that Senator Birmingham had “shown a lack of respect” with his “pieces of silver” comments.

“I’m sure the minister will engage in a conversation with Mr Elder in the next little while to talk through a few issues, but let me tell you, as a parent of children who go to Catholic schools, I’m not concerned by the statements by Minister Birmingham,” Senator Cormann said.

NSW Labor senator Deb O’Neill, a fellow Catholic, later asked Senator Birmingham about comments from former prime minister Tony Abbott yesterday, that the government’s policy was “going to make low-fee schools in middle class suburbs almost impossible to run”.

“Is former prime minister Abbott correct?” Senator O’Neill asked.

Senator Birmingham said the answer was “no”.

“The reality is the Turnbull government’s reforms are ensuring schools across Australia are receiving fair, consistent funding,” he said.

“It sees growth in funding, a lift of around $23 to $25 billion over the next decade. We see real, consistent needs-based funding being applied.

“It means for non-government schools, regardless of their background, their affiliation

or otherwise, they will be funded on the same basis, based on their needs, because the Turnbull government believes that schools should be funded based on the need of the children in those schools, not the political deals that can be done like the Labor Party seeks to do.”

Senator O’Neill pressed Senator Birmingham on another comment from Mr Abbott, that:

“If the government was smart, we would have a look at our existing policy.”

Senator O’Neill asked Senator Birmingham why he wouldn’t take up Mr Abbott’s suggestion.

Senator Birmingham said the government was working through issues raised by the Catholic sector, including a Gonski report recommendation to have an independent school resourcing board which includes Catholic representation.

“Mr Shorten’s policy is a partisan move,” Senator Birmingham said.

“It has astonished many parents, family and staff of schools. They have criticised it as going against fair, simple and transparent (principles).

“The truth for Catholic education across Australia is on a per student basis, funding is growing, and growing quite significantly.

“In terms of additional funding, Catholic education around the country is receiving 4.7 per cent more funding than they received last year.

“If you look at over the course of the next four years, 20 per cent growth and if you look at over the course of the decade it’s closer to 56 per cent. Real strong growth in funding that is above inflation, above wages growth, real funding into Catholic education along with real funding into public school schools who have been critical of the Labor Party’s funding.

“The shame of those opposite is you have thrown any principle out of the door.”

‘Apologise for offensive remarks’

Labor frontbencher Brendan O’Connor earlier called for Simon Birmingham to apologise to the Catholic Education Office and parents who send their children to Catholic schools.

“The Catholic system’s losing money, and that’s been Labor’s position all along,” Mr O’Connor told Sky News.

“It’s not a recent thing that we made commitments to restore funding to the public education system and the Catholic system, and quite frankly, Simon Birmingham’s comments are disgraceful and they’re highly offensive and he should apologise, not just to the Catholic Education Office, but to all Catholic parents who just want to have a fair funding arrangement for their schools.

“That’s what the issue is here, that there’s been the overwhelming, we would say funding cut, has come from the public education system and we’ve committed to restoring it, but 12 per cent of the cuts as we’ve seen them have come from the Catholic school system, and we’ve said we’d look to restore funding for the Catholic schools.

“The minister can disagree with the Catholic Education Office, but to use such language and to be so dismissive and so insulting to Catholic parents in particular, who just want good education for their kids, is very offensive, and he must apologise for those comments. It’s one thing to have a public policy disagreement, but to use such abusive, personally abusive language is remarkable, quite frankly.”

Mr O’Connor said Mr Spratt “obviously has a particular standpoint” in attacking Mr Shorten’s “spectacular special deal” with Catholic schools.

“But our position from the start, from the point where the government chose to reshape the policy and try and present it as what was once Labor policy, is that we don’t support the $17bn funding cuts, 86 per cent of which would be restored into the public education system,” Mr O’Connor said.

He denied Labor was doing a special deal with the Catholic sector.

“No. We’re looking at all of the schools: independent, Catholic and public schools that have been affected by the cuts. 86 per cent of the cuts that were happening in the public education system and we will be looking to restore them.

“That’s our priority, but the Catholic school system funding has also been cut by of all of the cuts they make up 12 per cent of those cuts, and we’ve said we’ll look to support that.”

Bill Shorten ‘is a deal-maker, not a leader’: Sukkar

Liberal frontbencher Michael Sukkar said it was clear the Catholic sector’s campaign had played a role in Batman, but attributed the success of the campaign to the fact that it was being waged against the Greens.

“You’ve got the Greens political party who are avowedly opposed to Catholic education, so the Catholic Education Office was able to run a pretty convincing anti-Greens campaign, which ultimately benefited the Labor Party,” Mr Sukkar told Sky News.

“I think most people would say who I’ve spoken to that it had quite a dramatic impact on the outcome of the Batman by-election, but from a government perspective, without going into the history of these things, but all the way back to Menzies in Goulburn we have had a much different relationship and attitude towards Catholic education than the Greens certainly and even the Labor Party, and so we’ve got a much closer relationship and enduring relationship and one that has supported Catholic education, so I’m confident that will continue and I think in that way you can distinguish Batman from any future elections.”

Mr Sukkar said the Catholic sector should not trust Bill Shorten, because he had a history of “telling one group one thing and one group another”.

“We saw that during the Batman by-election, standing in Queensland being pro the Carmichael mine and standing in Batman being anti the Carmichael mine, so it’s not surprising that bit by bit, slowly but surely Bill Shorten gets found out by more groups in different contexts, and this is just another example of Bill Shorten cutting deals,” Mr Sukkar said.

“He’s a deal-maker, he’s not a leader, he’s not a statesman, and I think that’s another example of it.”

Mr Sukkar said the Coalition had an enduring commitment to Catholic education.

“That will continue, and I’m very confident that come the next election, our relationship with every sector of education, whether it’s Catholic, independent or government schools, will be strong, and Minister Birmingham and the government will be able to point to a system that funds them all fairly and ensures that each and every one of them are enthusiastically supporting the government. I truly am confident of that, and that’s what I and I think everyone in the government will be working towards,” he said.