Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) is an estimate of how much total public funding a school needs to meet the educational needs of its students, as recommended by the 2011 Gonski Review of Funding for Schooling, and

(ii) under current policy settings, 87% of public schools will still be underfunded in 2023; and

(b) calls on all parties to commit to 100% SRS funding for public schools.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From 2006-07 to 2015-16 the Commonwealth increased funding to state schools by 8.7 per cent. State government funding for state schools has only increased by 7.7 per cent. The Liberal-National government is providing record funding to state schools; and spending is growing faster for state schools than non-government schools, with funding increases of around 3.6 per cent per student each year.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under the Liberals, almost nine in 10 public schools will never get to 100 per cent of the School Resourcing Standard because the Liberals have capped federal funding for public schools at just 20 per cent of the SRS. We won't take lectures from the Greens, who wanted to back the Liberals when they introduced a school funding package which allowed this to occur. When Lee Rhiannon refused to back down, her reward was Senator Faruqi knocking her off in preselection. The Greens know that 100 per cent of funding can only happen if state and territory governments agree, so it is not something that this parliament can commit to.

Labor has committed to investing $3.3 billion in public schools over the first three years of a Labor government and $14 billion over the decade. Labor's goal over time is to get every public school to 100 per cent of its fair funding level. But that requires funding commitments from the states and territories, and we are putting back the funding that the Greens were complicit in getting ripped out of schools.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens are proudly the party of public education. We are unapologetic in our advocacy for a well-resourced, world-class public education system. I'm proud to have announced the Greens plan to ensure that every public school is to be fully funded. We must make sure that every public school receives 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard by 2023 and has the capital funds to build the learning and teaching facilities that are needed, and that funding cuts for students with disability are reversed. And we must also reverse the deals with the private schools, struck disgustingly by the Liberals, which Labor doesn't have the guts to cancel. It's simple: with public money, the 2.5 million children in public schools have to come first, and the Greens will always stand by them.

Question negatived.