Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The spin from this government is just extraordinary. To say that their education plan is about needs based funding it is just wrong and flat out untrue. Let's just compare a couple of schools in my electorate to demonstrate how wrong and misleading this government is. Under the Labor model, Kennington Primary School—one of the largest primary schools in the Bendigo electorate, with over 600 students—would have got half a million dollars under the original Gonski funding next year. What did they get from this mob last night in the budget? It was only $73,900. That is a bit of a difference. That is just a bit of a difference. That is an entire music program, that is quite a few teachers and that is teacher aides.

Another example is Bendigo Senior Secondary College. Under Labor's original Gonski model, they would have got $1.6 million in extra funding, needs based funding, for the largest VCE-VCAL program in the state of Victoria, which is delivered at Bendigo Senior Secondary College. What did they get last night in the budget and under this government's version of what it call needs based funding? It was only $265,800. There is a really big difference between $1.6 million and $265,800.

The government say it is needs based funding. Last night, I looked on their website at their own calculator. Lightning Reef Primary School—the school of hard knocks—are trying so hard to catch up on numeracy and literacy. They are in a very disadvantaged, low SES area in Bendigo. They forgo watering their oval to keep on a part-time teacher aide. They do not have enough money in their budget to water an oval. What is the boost they get from this government—the top-up? It is less than $40,000 in the government's version of needs based funding, yet another independent school just up the road, which is doing quite well, gets half a million dollars. It is not needs based funding that this government has put forward. Just because you call it needs based funding does not mean that it is.

The schools who most need the money continue to miss out under this government. Kennington Primary School, Bendigo Senior Secondary College and our Catholic schools in Bendigo are upset. The ones on the west side of town are doing worse than the ones on the east side of town. This government is now targeting the Catholics, who, quite frankly, are a little bit better at managing money when it comes to schools. This government is not serious about needs based funding. It is not serious about Bendigo schools. The announcements last night prove again that our schools are worse off under a Liberal-National government, and I call on them to implement the full and original Gonski based funding.