Today's federal election will be a critical point for Australia’s public education system.
The major parties have now settled on their platforms when it comes to school funding, and the choice for voters is clear, as the differences between the policies are stark.
Both Labor and the Greens have pledged to deliver the last two years of Gonski funding, while a Turnbull Government would abandon the Gonski model.
This equates to a potential $330 million that would be lost to WA schools if Gonski is not fully funded.
The funding losses in WA’s electorates if Gonski is not fully funded range from $8 million to $64 million per electorate.
This would be on top of the cuts of $250 million from school budgets under the Barnett Government since 2013.
Fully funding Gonski would mean smaller class sizes, additional classroom resources and greater educational support for students in need.
Gonski funding is distributed according to the individual needs of students and schools have the capacity to choose in which ways this funding will most aid their students.
Students in Queensland and New South Wales have already seen the benefits of Gonski funding in their schools and equity demands that Western Australian students be given the same opportunities.
The Turnbull Government claims the nation can’t afford to fully fund Gonski but changes to tax laws that would see corporations and wealthy individuals paying their fair share of tax could cover the full Gonski.
Consider that Australia ranks 29th out of 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in terms of tax to gross domestic product ratio and it becomes apparent that this is not a case of political “can’t do” but a case of political “won’t do” on the part of the Turnbull Government.
They have shown their true colours when it comes to supporting public education in this country. Show your true colours for public education in Australia today.
