Media Statement - 19th March 2007
Where parents decide to send their children to school is entirely a matter for them. It is their choice.
Parents make their decisions on the basis that they want to maximise their child's potential and give them the best start in life. Often parents make these decisions at considerable personal financial cost.
That choice is usually based on a variety of reasons including religious or personal conviction.
A Rudd Labor Government will support parental choice. We will do that by funding all schools, whether they are government, non-government, religious or secular, based on need and fairness.
A Rudd Labor Government will be concerned about the quality of education rather than engaging in a government versus non-government schools debate. That is behind us.
Previous attitudes by Federal Labor to a so-called hit list in non-government schools was wrong. Our objective is to raise standards in all schools – government and non-government.
The Rudd Labor Education Revolution is about preparing young people for long-term secure jobs and make them the best trained in the western world.
Funding all schools on the basis of need and fairness will also ensure we do not end up with a two or three-tier school system.
Federal Labor has already made it crystal clear through its continued Education Revolution policies that we will make a greater investment in education at every level. This includes schools and schooling.
Labor will not cut funding to any government or non-government schools. We are about supporting schools rather than taking money away from them .
Labor will invest in our schools. As a consequence, no school will be worse off, no school will have its funding cut.
Federal Labor is now working on options for funding schools and its approach to the next four year schools' funding round (2009-2012). This will be reflected in Labor's detailed schools funding election commitments.
Federal Labor will consult widely with the Catholic and Independent education systems on our approach to schools funding generally and on detailed funding issues.
Today’s statement builds on Federal Labor’s plans to:
- Invest $450 million to provide four year olds with 15 hours a week of high quality early childhood education;
- Provide $111 million to encourage students to study maths and science at university and use their degrees within the maths and sciences professions, particularly, teaching; and
- Set up a National Curriculum Board to develop a rigorous, consistent and quality curriculum for all Australian students – from kindergarten to Year 12. It will focus on four important subject areas. They are: Maths; The Sciences; English; and History
For Australian families, it’s not just a matter of seeing that our kids get an education, but ensuring that they get a high quality education.