The Teachers Federation today called on the NSW Premier to maintain his funding advocacy now that the federal budget has been delivered. The June state budget will be the first opportunity for Mr Baird to show that his Government will honour their part of the deal.
Today the NSW Treasurer, Andrew Constance, issued a Media Release (see attachment below) in which he states:
“The NSW Government has major concerns over the Commonwealth’s Budget, with what appears to be ‘cost-shifting’ in health and education services….
“We are deeply concerned about what this budget means for health and education services. We make no apologies for fighting for the people of NSW when it comes to funding these vital areas.
“We will fight tooth and nail for every dollar.’
As well, Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli issued a media release in which he reaffirmed the NSW government’s commitment to fund its Gonski commitments in full, and saying he will meet with all school sectors to plan a strategy to ensure the Commonwealth Government meets its commitments.
Mr Piccoli said:
“As Minister for Education I am bitterly disappointed that the Commonwealth Government has walked away from a signed agreement with NSW.
Not only is this a breach of a commitment to NSW, it is breach of faith with all school students in the State.”
Prior to the budget, the Premier, Mike Baird, was on the record arguing that his Government continues to support the Gonski Agreement. He said:
“The NSW Government remains committed to the agreement and we will strongly advocate that the commonwealth government similarly agree to maintain the agreement for the full six-year period”, Mr Baird said. (SMH 29 April 2014)
Yesterday’s federal budget signalled that the Abbott Government intends to under-fund schools by at least two-thirds of what was promised in the National Education Reform Agreement reached between the NSW and Federal Governments.
Despite assurances given to the Australian public before the last election, the Abbott Government had already announced in December 2013 cuts of $450 million for after-school care and a $987 million cut in funding for trade training facilities in schools.
For NSW schools the federal budget represents a cut of $2.1 billion by abandoning the final two years of Gonski funding. As well, the vocational and training (VET) sector has also been hit hard.
The real losers in the Federal Budget are our students.
The cuts include $1.81 billion in additional funding for public schools which educate a disproportionate number of students from low-income families, students from rural and remote NSW, students with disability, Aboriginal students and students from non-English speaking backgrounds.
The Gonski funding model was designed to close the gap between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. The Abbott Government has abandoned the Gonski principle of need-based, targeted funding. Instead, it is a budget that will entrench disadvantage and deny thousands of students the education they need to reach their potential. Up to one in five NSW schools will not meet even minimum basic resource standards.
Already in NSW public schools the additional Gonski funds are making a difference providing extra support to students in targeted, strategic programs. If Abbott is allowed to get away with the cuts, there will be no long-term certainty for these programs.
The Abbott cuts also hit VET hard, with the cost of gaining skills shifted from the government to young Australians and their parents and carers.
The Tools For Your Trade program, worth $914.6 million over four years, has been cut. Worse, the following programs will be abolished with cuts of over $1 billion to this vital area:
- National Workforce Development Fund
- Workplace English Language and Literacy Program
- Australian Apprenticeships Access Program
- Accelerated Australian Apprenticeships Program
- Australian Apprenticeships Mentoring Program
- National Partnership Agreement on Training Places for Single Parents
- Alternative Pathways Program
- Apprenticeship to Business Owner Program
- Productive Ageing through Community Education
- Step Into Skills Program
- These programs were critical in providing basic literacy and numeracy skills, and up-skilling existing workers to meet the needs of the modern workplace. They have been replaced with a Trade Support Loans Programme - $439 million over four years - a HECS-style loans scheme of up to $20,000 per apprentice restricted to skills shortage or "in demand" areas.
The loans scheme indicates that the federal government has abandoned any commitment to develop the skills of young Australians shifting the burden on the individual and placing them on a debt cycle even before they gain employment.
While a new Industry Skills Fund is worth $476 million over four years, the real impact on VET will be a net loss of at least $1.5 billion.
It is extraordinary that the Prime Minister can talk about long-term investment in Australia’s future while at the same time fail to invest in Australia’s most precious resource, our young people. The cuts to Gonski and VET show that this government understands the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
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