11 May 2018
The National Catholic Education Commission welcomes the commitment by the Labor Party in last night’s Federal Budget reply to restore the level of funding for schools originally proposed by the Gillard Labor Government.
The NCEC’s acting executive director Ray Collins said the changes to school funding introduced by the Turnbull government are having a serious impact on more than 500 Catholic schools across Australia.
“The concerns of the Catholic sector in ensuring fair funding were not addressed in the Federal Budget on Tuesday night,” said Mr Collins. “We welcome the commitment by the Labor Party under Bill Shorten to restore the $17 billion in funding promised under the previous Labor Government to ensure that all schools will receive fair funding. It’s a positive step forward for all schools.”
“The education community has recently witnessed the presentation to the government of two reports, the Halsey report into Regional, Rural and Remote Education and the Gonski report to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools. The recommendations included in these reports have significant cost factors if they are to achieve the desired outcomes.
“Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, has committed to ensuring that significantly more funds will be allocated to schools at a time when such investment in the future of the quality of Australian schooling is most warranted,” said Mr Collins.
Mr Collins said the Catholic sector will continue to work with both the Government and the Opposition in seeking a fairer level of funding for all schools.
“While we will continue to work with both the Government and Opposition, we are pleased that the Opposition has listened to the concerns of Catholic school communities, evident by Bill Shorten’s announcement yesterday to boost school funding.”
