David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

Governments should ensure that a great education is available to every poor kid in Australia. The current approach is not necessarily the best way of achieving this. So I welcome the news today that the government has prepared an open-minded discussion paper on school funding and is consulting with the states and territories. I find it disconcerting that certain parties respond to this news by immediately asserting their support for the status quo and attacking anyone who dares to consider alternatives.

The Liberal Democrats believe the Commonwealth government should play no role in school funding. The Commonwealth has no constitutional responsibility in this area, runs no schools and has no monopoly on the raising of taxes. But, if the Commonwealth government is to play a role in school funding, we believe funding should be provided according to the circumstances of the children and parents. It should not be provided according to who owns the school.

Don't be fooled by the Gonski cheer squad: current funding arrangements do not provide funding according to the circumstances of the children and parents. A poor child in a government-run school gets the most funding: more than a poor child in a church-run school, which is more than a poor child in a privately-run school. This results from two levels of government working at cross-purposes, from generous grandfathering arrangements for

church-run schools and Gonski's intentional discrimination between government-run and non-government-run schools. Those defending the status quo are clearly more interested in point-scoring than in the welfare of our poorest kids.