Julia Gillard faces backlash on Gonski and closing the gap

SCEPTICAL premiers will today frustrate Julia Gillard's Gonski education reforms and a push for a national crackdown on gang violence.

130419 PM Gillard GONSKI

SCEPTICAL premiers will today frustrate Julia Gillard's Gonski education reforms and a push for a national crackdown on gang violence, amid lingering tensions over the carve-up of the GST.

The Prime Minister also faces a backlash over her handling of a national partnership to close the gap on indigenous disadvantage, after premiers read in The Australian that she would be offering $777 million over three years to renew the deal.

As Ms Gillard flagged that the gang crackdown would feature on the Council of Australian Governments' agenda, Queensland and NSW appeared to be at loggerheads on the issue.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he would not sign up to a national unexplained wealth law to crack down on organised crime, while NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is set to support the national laws targeting bikie gangs.

The government's leaking of its plans to extend the indigenous Closing the Gap program has also raised hackles.

Mr Newman said he had not received details on the Closing the Gap extension and knew only what he had read in the media.

A senior West Australian source described the leaking of the Closing the Gap offer as a "complete contempt for process and good government".

On the eve of the COAG meeting in Canberra today, Ms Gillard said she was determined to get the Gonski education reforms done, "and I will be making that determination very clear in the room when premiers and chief ministers meet tomorrow".

As the states said they would continue to examine the detail, the Prime Minister signalled that she would not negotiate on the dollar amount in the Gonski offer.

Ms Gillard said that if premiers and chief ministers did not sign up for a new school funding plan tomorrow, "then they should expect to see back in their home states and territories community members . . . who care passionately about children and the future of our nation, and who will be making it very clear that they expect the nation's leaders to work together to give our kids and our nation a better future".

Australian Education Union federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said parents of every school-age child in the nation would be watching closely and any state leader who prevaricated on the funding reforms would pay a high price.

"Now is not the time for political grandstanding; now is the time for our leaders to grasp this opportunity for change," Mr Gavrielatos said.

"The cost of inaction is unacceptable. Next year alone, this would mean cuts of $390m in commonwealth funding for public schools, should existing arrangements remain in place."

Ms Gillard said COAG would also discuss the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which South Australia signed on to yesterday. While South Australia and the ACT could sign on to the Gonski deal as early as today, NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will hold out pending further negotiations, and Western Australia seems unlikely to sign.

West Australian sources said Premier Colin Barnett remained deeply concerned about the offer the state had received under the Gonski reforms, which could be as low as $183m extra for the six years to 2019.

Mr Newman said he was keen to see more federal government funding for Queensland schools -- after the state announced an injection of more than $800m over five years -- but he was concerned about funding cuts to universities, the end of a national partnership agreement that would cut $195m in funding from kindergartens and the withholding of more than $700m in flood reconstruction payments.

"This is the trouble with this government: it is a pea and thimble trick," he said. "They give with one hand and take with another."

Mr Newman said Queensland would not hand over proceeds of crime powers to the commonwealth, which are part of a national push to crack down on organised crime.

"If you can't stop the boats and if you can't tell Australians when the next one's going to appear off Geraldton, then you hardly can be trusted to deal with the gangs," Mr Newman said.

Ms Gillard said: "As a nation we've got to make sure there are no gaps, there are no loopholes, there is nowhere to hide, that people who commit serious crimes in our country face the full penalty and the full price, including what can be done through national anti-gang laws and national unexplained wealth laws."

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings cited the GST as central to key agenda items at COAG because it would determine if Tasmania could afford Gonski and the NDIS.

"Tasmania stands to lose up to $700m a year under a per capita distribution system, being pushed by the Liberal states," she said.

Tasmania is expected to confront Western Australia over its support for a per-capita distribution model for the GST.

South Australia wanted a continuation of most of the National Partnership Agreements that are due to expire in June.