Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the member for Hindmarsh's motion about schools and education and the good things schools are doing in our community. But it would be remiss of me not to also speak of the cuts that this government is making to schools, cuts that will bring to a halt the wonderful work they are doing for our students and our communities.

When I last spoke about this subject in February, schools in Australia were facing a $30 billion cut to funding because the Turnbull-Abbott government had reneged on a deal it had made with the states to pay the final two years of Gonski funding. Now, in its laughable Gonski 2.0 proposal, the government has thrown a few crumbs back to the schools so that cut will no longer be the disgraceful $30 billion but will still be $22 billion. I fail to see how, just because it still has the 'Gonski' label, anyone can celebrate a $22 billion cut to education and our schools.

In Paterson, my electorate, under the government's 'generous' new funding model the 45 schools will collectively lose more than $23 million. It may be as high as $24 million. That is no drop in the ocean. Despite what the government is telling school principals and parents, it is a cut. It is a very real cut. The final two years of Gonski funding had been agreed to by the Turnbull government, agreed to by the states and budgeted for, most importantly, by schools. Now schools will miss out. This is from a government who says its budget is fair and full of opportunity. Is it fair that every school in my electorate of Paterson will receive funding cuts?

Let me tell you about just three schools in my electorate that have done remarkable things with their genuine Gonski funding and three schools that will be among the hardest hit by the fraudulent Gonski 2.0 and these cuts. One is Kurri Kurri High. It is my old school, in fact, and dear to my heart. It has received $244,000 in genuine Gonski funding to date. With that they have employed a full-time teacher to work with Aboriginal students, and writing results have improved by 200 per cent. The employment of two experienced HSC markers and retired teachers to work with every individual HSC student has doubled the number of students who have attained band 5 results in the HSC and led to a 75 per cent reduction in the number of students not completing the HSC. An extra deputy principal has focused on creating world-class teachers who learn from professional development and the latest research. This has led to innovative programs, with year 7 working in hubs to increase their engagement. Kurri Kurri High, which has made such great improvements, will miss out on $1.3 million under these cuts. Imagine what they could do with that. Imagine is all we may ever get to do.

Another school making great leaps and bounds is Rutherford Public School. Rutherford Public, to date, has received $595,000 in genuine Gonski funding and has invested in substantial additional professional learning for teachers. Through employing extra staff, it has set up innovative transition programs for students entering kindergarten and for those moving from year 6 to year 7. They have employed additional literacy and numeracy teachers to help students with those critical skills. They have contracted a speech pathologist to work with teachers in language development. They have employed a community liaison officer to promote school attendance, parent inclusion, and community liaison and engagement. They have funded a gymnastics program, a school band, physical education and student welfare programs.

Unless genuine Gonski funding is fully rolled out, Rutherford Public will miss out on $1.1 million. But that is not the worst of it. Rutherford high school, one of the most disadvantaged schools in my electorate, will lose a staggering $1.8 million in the next two years because this government does not give a hoot about young people and their education. Rutherford high runs fantastic programs, and now these students are going to miss out. Students study business services, construction, hospitality, metals and engineering, primary industries, retail services and sport coaching. These often lead to jobs with their host employer once they have finished school.

We should be talking about education, but we should be talking about properly funded education. This Gonski 2.0 is a joke, and everyone knows it. The original always will be the best.

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