Howard Budget fails public education

By Angelo Gavrielatos

The Federal Budget, brought down on May 11, failed to deliver for the overwhelming majority of students, parents and teachers who are part of the public education system.

The Howard Government ensured that the major beneficiaries of federal government funding will continue to be the one third of students who attend private schools.

While the Federal Government continues to try and hide its neglect of public education by combining state and Commonwealth funding, it must be judged on its own funding policy for schools.

Responses to the budget

While committing the ALP to "provide additional funds for government schools", Opposition leader Mark Latham, in his speech in reply to the Budget, failed to articulate a priority commitment to public education.

Mark Latham failed to provide any detail with respect to the amount of additional funding the ALP intends to allocate for public education.

With the automatic funding nexus which exists between the funding of private and public schools, which sees automatic increases to private schools whenever there are increased average costs in public schools, this is most likely to also mean ongoing increases to private schools. Latham promised there would be no cuts in funding to private schools, but a redistribution within the private schools sector. The most likely effect of that will be Catholic and other "low fee paying" private schools funded more generously by government than public schools.

"For the most disadvantaged parts of our society, they have one great hope in life: the neighbourhood government school at the end of their street. It's their passport out of poverty," Mr Latham also said.

The perception created by this "unfortunate" choice of words is that public schools are part of a welfare safety net for the poor who cannot afford a private education. They represent a deficit model of thinking with respect to public education which is totally unacceptable. It represents a lack of understanding and respect for the historic and future importance of an inclusive public education system for all. Australia's cohesive tolerant multicultural democracy was built on, and is dependent upon, a thriving public education system.

It also stands in contrast to the policy adopted by the ALP at its National Conference in January 2004 which states:

"Labor recognises that all governments have a primary obligation for the provision of high quality public schooling that is accessible to all children and young people. Public schooling must continue to be free and secular, to shape and be shaped by Australian society and culture, to keep pace with the times, to strive for educational and intellectual excellence, to contribute to the development of the shared values that sustain democratic life and to foster innovation, critical awareness, creativity and optimism towards a shared future."

The Greens

In reply to the Budget, the Greens condemned the Howard Government's policies, stating: "The Government has failed a generation of young Australians by not investing in their education and our nation's future."

The Greens went on to say: "This Government has pursued an ideological agenda of pouring money into the private school sector at the expense of public schools. In contrast the Greens are committed to building a high quality public education system and in doing so turn around the worrying growth trend in private schooling which is dividing our communities.

"The Greens would scrap the appallingly unfair SES [socio economic status] system that funds non government schools and in doing so redirect the $1.5 billion earmarked for the wealthiest private schools over the next four years into a priority public schools funding programme. The Greens would freeze the funding of private schools at 2003/04 levels in order to direct those savings into urgently needed catch-up funds for the public sector.

"Through these and other measures The Greens will continue working to ensure that every child can be guaranteed that an education at the local government school continues to be the best educational, cultural and social experience on offer."

Senate Inquiry into Schools Funding

The response from the Government was to dismiss the inquiry as "politically motivated".

It is understood that the Senate Committee will travel to every state and territory to gather evidence and receive submissions. It will report by August 11.

This will provide another opportunity to expose the Howard Government's funding regime and to advance Federation's policy objectives in support of public education.

Angelo Gavrielatos is the Senior Vice President.

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