John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Education policy in the Abbott government is a shambles. After only 76 days in office, Mr Pyne, the Minister for Education, has become a national laughing stock. Quite rightly the government has copped an avalanche of criticism as a bemused public have witnessed backflip after backflip after backflip. I would like to look at the facts. First, when the Liberal Party were in opposition, we had what they called 'conski'—an amateurish play on words from the amateurish Mr Pyne. But don't take my word for it; this is what was said at the time:

This is not Gonski – it is a conski.

Those were Mr Pyne's own words on 14 April this year in a press release—one of those press releases which have survived and remarkably, unlike many others, are still available on the Liberal Party website. Then 'conski' was followed by a monumental backflip. Mr Pyne was embarrassingly humiliated by his leader. On 2 August, Mr Abbott was forced to announce to the Australian public a second position, a 'unity ticket' on education funding, and forced to make clear he would honour all of the Labor government's agreements. Again, don't take my word for it; here is what Mr Abbott said:

… as far as school funding is concerned, Kevin Rudd and I are on a unity ticket. There is no difference between Kevin Rudd and myself when it comes to school funding.

At the same doorstop, Mr Abbott assured the Australian public that no school would be worse off, that the coalition would honour all the then government's agreements and deals, and all funding would be matched if the coalition won the impending election. Mr Abbott again:

We will make sure that no school is worse off.

…   …   …

… we will honour the agreements that Labor has entered into. We will match the offers that Labor has made.

Then just two days later, on 4 August, Mr Abbott reiterated his commitment, in his own press release:

We’ll also provide schools with funding certainty – so the Coalition will match the dollar-for-dollar commitments already made to schools for the next four years …

But, after the election, guess what; everything changed. We had Liberal education policy No. 3. On 25 November, Mr Pyne announced another backflip—an egregious broken promise. He said on radio:

I will renegotiate all funding agreements with the signatory and non-signatory jurisdictions …

And to add to the outrage, two days later, at a press conference on 27 November, Mr Abbott said in answer to this question from a journalist:

… You're guaranteeing that no individual school will be worse off?

Mr ABBOTT: No.

That's what he said: 'No.' Then yesterday we had the latest gyration from this hapless government—yet another backflip

The political fix was in. No cabinet meeting or decision, just the leadership group deciding the outcome, minutes before question time yesterday. It was policy No. 4: all deals and agreements were now being honoured. But even today there is no certainty, no clarity, no detail, no specifics about the government's latest model for school funding.

The funding model itself is a very sorry story. On 29 August this year, at a News Ltd education forum, Mr Pyne said: 'We have agreed to the government's school funding model.' That is the first position. After the election, Mr Pyne did not agree with the school funding model. TheAustralian, on 25 November, quoted him:

Everything needs to be examined fresh, because the model that Labor came up with is a shambles and quite unimplementable.

The following day, 26 November, Mr Pyne said that the 'unimplementable' model would be implemented, but only for one year. I quote him again:

Well in 2014 we will ensure that the new school funding model as proposed by Labor is implemented …

That is his third position on a model for school funding. Then three days later, at a press conference on 29 November, Mr Pyne was proposing yet another new schools-funding model. I will quote him again, out of his own mouth, his own words:

Well next year I will sit down and after consulting and talking with stakeholders I will develop a new model in the early part of the New Year …

That was the fourth position. Then, just yesterday, here in Parliament House in Canberra, Mr Pyne announced approach No. 5. He said the government would keep the original model and keep it for four years this time. I quote Mr Pyne again: 'We will keep the model for the next four years.' That is his fifth position on school funding. At this stage I have to be fair to Mr Pyne and acknowledge that that is his current position; he has not changed it in the ensuing hours. That is the situation we have got.

Now we know that Commonwealth funding is to be provided to state and territory governments with no strings attached—no strings attached at all. I ask this question: what of the risk that state and territory governments—the Queensland government, the West Australian government, the Northern Territory government—will reduce their funding whilst receiving additional funding from the Commonwealth? Who knows how individual schools or individual students may be disadvantaged with the current policy as announced by Mr Pyne? We simply do not know; none of the detail has been tied down. What would you expect when the cabinet did not even meet before the latest position of the Abbott government on school funding was hastily announced before House of Representatives question time yesterday? It was incredible.

Mr Pyne told us all that he had 'a good day in the office' yesterday. That is what he said: 'I had a good day in the office yesterday.' I have got to say, and I am sure you would agree with me, Mr Acting Deputy President, that it looked a shocker to me. This is a sorry story of incompetence, of bungling and of deceit. I finish by awarding Mr Pyne, as Australia's education minister, an emphatic fail, an emphatic F minus. Yes, he must do better, as is written on so many school report cards. But, no, I do not like our chances.