PM’s ‘smack on the bottom’ over Catholic school funding

Bill Shorten says Malcolm Turnbull must boost funding for all school sectors, not just Catholic schools.

David Gonski, Minister for Education Simon Birmingham and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Bill Shorten says Malcolm Turnbull has received an “electoral smack on the bottom” over Catholic school funding, and must now pledge to boost funding for all school sectors.

The Labor leader’s call comes after Liberal backbencher Tony Pasin declared Education Minister Simon Birmingham’s relationship with the Catholic school sector has “become toxic” and “been allowed to fester”, and welcomed an intervention from the Prime Minister.

The Australian revealed today the Mr Turnbull has moved to secure a deal to prevent a funding situation the sector claims could lead to the closure of up to 350 schools.

It is understood a deal to restore a funding shortfall of up to $1.7 billion for Catholic schools over the next decade is expected to be reached within weeks, with Mr Turnbull facing calls by senior ministers to intervene after the ­Coalition’s by-election loss in Longman.

Mr Turnbull wrote to the archbishops of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Friday agreeing to a second meeting to resolve the funding impasse and confirmed his office would be engaging directly with the sector on the issue.

The breakthrough comes ahead of further discussions, which were due to be held today, between Senator Birmingham and Catholic school officials in Adelaide.

Labor has long sought to frame the Turnbull government’s Gonski 2.0 policy as a $17bn cut to all sectors over ten years compared with the amount Julia Gillard pledged in her Gonski package in 2012, which the opposition has promised to deliver in full if elected.

Senator Birmingham has argued schools across all sectors will be $25.3bn better off over 10 years than they would have been under Tony Abbott, who axed the Gonksi plan, and Catholic schools will be $3.9bn better off.

“We believe, and we’ve said all along that Malcolm Turnbull’s cut $17bn from schools,” Mr Shorten said.

“We’ve said that he’s cut them from government schools, public education, but he’s also cut them from low fee independent and Catholic schools.

“Every time I’ve said this for the last 12 months, Mr Turnbull has attacked me and said that I’m making it up, that somehow there is no problem for Catholic schools.

“Now he’s received an electoral smack on the bottom over his cuts to school funding, he’s now going to sing a different song.

“He needs to put back every dollar he’s cut out of Catholic schools and public schools, and I put Mr Turnbull on notice: it’s a stunning admission that you now acknowledge that Labor’s been telling the truth and you’ve been lying on the funding of Catholic schools, forcing parents’ fees up, forcing the potential closure of Catholic school, but Malcolm it doesn’t stop there. Let’s prioritise education over big banks and corporate tax cuts for the top end of town.

“I will fight for government schools. It’s not fair if Mr Turnbull just fixes up his mistakes and cuts to Catholic schools.

“He needs to fix up his cuts to all schools full stop, and the only way you can put the $17bn worth of cuts back into schools isn’t by playing favourites between different school systems, it’s by dropping your rotten corporate tax cuts and some of the other measures which mean that you’re favouring the top end of town.”

‘Focus has always been on fairness’: Birmingham

Senator Birmingham said the government had promised a thorough review of the SES (socio-economic status) funding model followed by thorough consultations with stakeholders in the non-government school sector and had delivered on both fronts.

“Once these consultations are concluded we will act on implementing the review to ensure our record and growing funding for all school sectors is distributed according to fair and consistently applied principles,” Senator Birmingham said.

“My focus has always been on delivering for the first time ever a distribution of school funding according to fair and consistent principles and I continue to work constructively with all stakeholders.”

Catholic relationship ‘toxic’

Mr Pasin, who like Senator Birmingham is a South Australian, said he was very pleased Mr Turnbull had intervened.

“Clearly the relationship between Minister Birmingham and the Catholic education sector has become toxic, and we’ve allowed this sore to fester for far too long, over 12 months, and clearly that had an impact across the nation and will have an impact at the forthcoming federal election if it’s not resolved before then, and that’s why I’m very pleased that the Prime Minister has taken it upon himself to seek to resolve this issue personally,” Mr Pasin told Sky News.

“I note that the Catholic education sector is suggesting that there are 350 schools whose viability is in question, particularly primary schools, and you don’t have to be Nostradamus to work out that that’s going to lead to electoral difficulty, indeed pain, at an election, were that allowed to continue along that route.

“So again, I’m pleased that the Prime Minister has heard the calls from within and outside the government to ensure we resolve this matter and we do it as soon as practicable, and as I’ve said, it’s been disappointing that this has been allowed to fester over the last 12 months.”

‘This is Malcolm Turnbull’s education plan’

Labor senator Kristina Keneally said Labor had been calling on the Coalition to reverse cuts to schools for more than a year.

‘Let’s remember: this is Malcolm Turnbull’s education plan. This is his Gonski 2.0. He stood up and announced it, he has been promoting it,” Senator Keneally told Sky News.

“It’s a bit rich today to see reports in The Australian that he is seizing it back off Simon Birmingham.

“It looks like he’s throwing the minister under a bus here when all that Minister Birmingham has been doing is implementing Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts to education.

“Yes, the Catholic school sector has borne a big brunt of these cuts, low fee Catholic schools are seeing massive hikes, and risk in fact potentially closing. Labor has made clear that we’re going to reverse every dollar of these $17bn cuts to the school system, but let’s also remember it’s not just the Catholic schools that are getting cut here, it is also the public school sector which gets about 86 per cent of these cuts, so Malcolm Turnbull can do what he will do.

“Labor’s been clear for more than a year that we do not support $17bn cuts to schools while giving $17bn to the banks. That’s Malcolm Turnbull’s plan. It’s up to him to explain that, defend it, or to fix it.”

.@KKeneally says it’s a ‘bit rich’ for @TurnbullMalcolm to seemingly throw @Birmo under the bus over the Catholic school funding when all the Education Minister has been doing is implementing the PM’s cuts to education.

MORE: https://t.co/JvGoyYPBx6 #amagenda pic.twitter.com/IuiPSsbio6

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 30, 2018

‘Record school funding’

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said the government was putting record funding into Australia’s education system.

“We’ve been able to do that because we’ve got debt under control, we’ve got deficit under control, and that’s why we can put more money into schools and put more money into hospitals,” Mr Ciobo told Sky News.

“Labor of course wouldn’t do that. They would actually increase Australia’s debt profile.

“Ultimately we want to ensure that we have all sectors of Australia’s education community pleased with the outcome, and that work continues.”