AEU – Turnbull must come clean with parents on advertising spend

25 January 2018

The Australian Education Union calls on the Turnbull Government to publicly declare how much taxpayers’ money it is spending on its flashy new ad campaign to spin its school funding cuts.

• “Parents deserve to know how many of their tax dollars are being spent on this advertising. The Turnbull Government is cutting billions in education funding over the next two years,” said Correna Haythorpe, Federal President of the Australian Education Union.
• “Defunding schools is unpopular. It’s no wonder Malcolm Turnbull is spending up big on advertising to spin his cuts. This ad campaign is potentially costing millions. That’s millions of dollars that should be going to our schools.
• “Turnbull’s school funding plan entrenches inequality. Children experiencing disadvantage in our public system will be the most affected by Turnbull’s diversion of funding away from public schools.
• “State governments were railroaded into bearing the brunt of Turnbull’s funding cuts. As a result, 84 percent of public schools will be below the minimum School Resources Standard by 2027, while two-­thirds of private schools will be overfunded.
• “Funding cuts are funding cuts. It doesn’t matter how the Government tries to spin it. Parents deserve to know how much taxpayers’ money is being spent trying to hoodwink them,” said Ms Haythorpe.