Rudd's cultural revolution

Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd in Adelaide on Monday

THE recasting of Labor's values, priorities and strategies under Kevin Rudd is revealed in the party's school policy enshrined under the banner of the Rudd Education Revolution.

This emerging policy, the joint work of Rudd and education spokesman Stephen Smith, offers an illustration both of Labor me-tooism with John Howard yet also involves a sharp break from Howard's policies.

Its essence is to find a new position on school policy, ideally a consensus to transcend the bitter polarisation in Australia between Howard on one hand and the Australian Education Union-driven government school lobby on the other hand.

It begins with Rudd and Smith's conviction that Labor in recent years has mishandled schools policy and trashed one of its political strengths. They have reached several conclusions: Labor must kill the politics of envy that embitters the government-private school dispute; Labor will not be wedged by Howard any more on school values, curriculum and funding policy for private schools; and by increasing funding to all schools, Labor is positioned to terminate the zero-sum mindset on school funding while making progress with the public school lobby.

Smith has been blunt in outlining the cultural revolution Labor seeks: its concern is the quality of education, not the type of school.

The Rudd-Smith message is that they want an excellent public school sector and an excellent private school sector. They see this pledge as the only sound basis for school policy, and this conflicts with an entrenched section of opinion within the ALP.

Consider the Rudd-Smith statement on March 19 that repudiated Mark Latham's private school hit list. It was conspicuous for the political principle it enshrined: the principle of parental choice. This was Howard's language. Under Rudd, it is being restored to centre stage in Labor language and philosophy. Rudd and Smith said the Latham policy had been wrong. Their focus would be on quality education for all schools, not the government-private debate which is "behind us". The message could hardly be clearer.

The old thinking is far from dead. It is contained in the ALP federal platform that says Labor will fund private schools according to their resources, including from private income (so schools where parents make a contribution from fees will be penalised). The teachers union wants school funding based on such resource standards.

The signals, however, are that a Rudd government will retain Howard's SES (socio-economic status) funding model pioneered seven years ago and based on postcode data.

Labor has traditionally been antagonistic towards the SES model because it fails to incorporate a recognition of "private resources", such as fees. The independent schools see this as a touchstone: they oppose Labor penalising parents who make a financial contribution to their children's education.

This decision is the real key to schools policy and a political litmus test for a Rudd government.

In an interview on June 13 on ABC radio, Smith gave the decisive message, saying "it's up to a Labor government to implement the platform" and, in his view, the platform reference to private sources was "already taken into account by the current SES funding model".

In case you missed the point, Smith said the platform provision "doesn't stand in the way of what Kevin Rudd and I and Labor will do in government". In short, Rudd and Smith will call the shots, not the teachers' union, not the platform, not the ALP Left and not the old Latham model.

The real difference between Latham in 2004 and Rudd-Smith in 2007 is not abolition of the private school hit list. This list was just a symptom of the policy. The real difference is the funding model, and this reflects a new ALP view of the politics and philosophy.

How will Rudd and Smith pursue their consensus framework for school policy? Essentially, they have three instruments. First, the pledge to boost schools funding overall as part of Rudd's Education Revolution. Some promises have been unveiled: witness the 10-year, $2.5 billion pledge for trade training in secondary schools, the $450million for early childhood education and the $69 million for Asian languages.

Smith and Rudd insist that in the campaign proper Labor's spending details will mirror its priority commitment to education. This is the critical step in laying the foundation for Labor to deal effectively with public, Catholic and independent sectors.

In Smith's April 13 speech to the Independent Education Union of Australia, he provided the most detailed guide to his thinking. "Kevin and I do not resile from anything we have said in recent times," he said. "Our overriding principle will be that Labor will not cut funding to any government or non-government school, nor will we disturb current average government school recurrent cost indexation arrangements for schools funding."

He dismissed Coalition claims that Labor would be freezing funds to any private schools, saying this was inconsistent with the indexation pledge and the aspiration to increase funding overall.

Second, the extra funding means Rudd and Smith can re-order internal priorities according to needs and disadvantage. In the same speech, Smith asked: "Where do I see particular need?" He nominated government primary schools, indigenous education, rural, regional and remote education, special education and early childhood.

This is where much of Labor's extra funds will be directed. It is about confronting disadvantage and delivering equity. The logic is obvious: such funds will be channelled outside the SES model via direct funding mechanisms.

It will represent a significant increase in federal government funding of public education. This will better position a Rudd government in its dealings with the public school lobby and the Australian Education Union. Nobody expects the public school lobby to abandon its campaign. The reality, however, is that under a Rudd government the school funding policy will be authorised by cabinet and caucus and will reflect a political strategy designed to win votes across the board. As Labor has done in the past, the aspiration will be to find widespread political support around a new policy.

In recent times Labor's school policy has been too producer-driven. Rudd and Smith want to keep the support of teachers but they are shifting their stance more to consumers, appealing to parents and students.

Third, Rudd and Smith are recasting Labor's educational values. This is best seen in their support for a national curriculum where the focus is on core areas of maths, science, English and history.

Rudd's Education Revolution is not just about more funding but better educational quality and higher standards.

This is Labor's greatest challenge. It involves the deepest cultural change. It brings a Rudd government into direct conflict with progressivist educational ideology.