Delivering school funding certainty
Julia Gillard,Simon Crean
posted Wednesday, 4 August 2010
A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will guarantee to schools that their current funding arrangements will be kept in place for the entire term of the next Parliament.
This means we will extend the existing funding agreement, including the current indexation arrangements, by a further year to ensure certainty for all Government, Catholic and Independent Schools until the end of 2013.
Building on an unprecedented level of investment and strong record in education, the Gillard Labor Government will deliver this funding certainty for schools and will also maintain current arrangements for capital funding to 2014.
Education is a key driver of productivity and economic growth and only the Gillard Labor Government will ensure current investment in all Australian schools is sustained in real terms.
School communities also need funding certainty in order to plan their own futures with confidence.
After more than a decade of neglect under the former Coalition Government, Federal Labor has delivered record investments for Australian schools, almost doubling funding in less than three years.
The current funding agreement runs until December 2012.
As promised by Federal Labor at the 2007 election, a transparent independent review to inform future funding arrangements is currently underway.
A review panel of eminent Australians is examining the best way to ensure that future school funding delivers excellent education and value for money for all Australian schools and students.
Following the recommendations of the independent Funding Review Panel, a re elected Gillard Labor Government will put forward its proposals for future funding for consultation with schools, education systems and parents.
The Gillard Labor Government has delivered record funding for all schools and will invest more than $63.7 billion in school education funding from 2009-2012, compared to $33.5 billion under the former Coalition Government from 2005-2008.
In April 2010, Julia Gillard committed that no school would lose a dollar in future funding arrangements. Today’s announcement builds on that commitment and means that every school in every sector can now plan its future with confidence.
Only the Gillard Labor Government has made additional investments in the education of our kids.
The Gillard Labor Government has promised to maintain not only recurrent spending in schools, but investments in infrastructure, computers in schools, trades training centres and essential investments in the quality of our teachers.
Tony Abbott has only promised cuts to education.
Mr Abbott would cut schools funding from all sectors, including:
- $968 million from Trade Training Centres,
- $700 million on Computers in Schools; and
- $425 million from the crucial Teacher Quality reform program that pays teachers more to work in the schools where they can make the greatest difference.
This commitment by the Gillard Labor Government is already budgeted for within the forward estimates.
Tags: 2010, Cadetships, Centres, computers, Education, Election, Gillard, Julia, policy, Trade, Training