Private schools lobby vows federal election fight over ‘class-war rhetoric’
The nation’s private school lobby group has named a hit list of almost 20 federal seats it will target in a campaign to corral the billions of dollars in federal funding the sector receives and secure a $50 million innovation fund.
In a preemptive strike before the federal election is called, Independent Schools Australia will designate 17 seats as “ground zero” in the organisation’s School Choice Counts campaign.
New data reveals funding disparity.Credit: Michael Howard
Independent Schools Australia chief executive Graham Catt launched the campaign at Parliament House on Thursday, saying it would serve as a call to arms for parents and teachers from 1216 schools which collectively could account for up to 2.5 million votes.
“The seats we are focusing on are a mix,” he said. “Some are held by strong supporters of independent schools, others by politicians who have openly attacked our sector.”
Catt said the common factor between the electorates selected – six Labor, four Greens, four independent, two Liberal and one National – was the significant proportion of independent school families living within their boundaries.
The private school lobby group’s campaign contains policy proposals for the next federal government. The big ticket item is a $50 million fund dedicated to “cross-sector innovation” which would see private schools share programs taught in their classrooms with public or Catholic schools.
The private schools body will also use the campaign to call on all parties to rule out funding cuts which, it argues, will protect parents’ choice by allowing school fees to remain predictable and affordable for the families. About 716,000 students nationally are enrolled in private schools.
“Our policy priorities are designed to give families peace of mind that they won’t be forced to pay more for their child’s education in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis,” Catt said.
Included in the 17 seats are Education Minister Jason Clare’s western Sydney seat of Blaxland and one of the country’s most affluent electorates, Bradfield, a Liberal seat held by Paul Fletcher on Sydney’s upper north shore.
Also targeted will be Goldstein in Melbourne’s bayside, wrested from Liberal Tim Wilson by independent Zoe Daniel in 2022; Wills in Melbourne’s north, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, and the four Greens’ seats of Melbourne, Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith.
Focus on the strategically selected seats comes on the back of the group’s more than 20 one-on-one meetings with senior politicians, including Clare and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, in recent months.
Education funding has drawn attention from all parties in the lead up to the federal poll.
The Greens have criticised the level of federal funding private schools receive, undertaking to push for full funding of public schools by 2026 and any overfunding of private schools to be removed by 2029.
The crossbench party has said education policy would form part of negotiations with the major parties, should neither be able to form a government after the election.
However, Catt criticised the Greens for what he described as a relentless campaign attacking independent schools and their families.
“Families make sacrifices every day to give their children the best start in life. They should not be publicly vilified or penalised for choosing an independent school.”
Catt said the campaign would “put the Greens on notice” following what he described as the party’s “divisive class-war rhetoric” which relied on ideology that unfairly misrepresented families who opted to send their children to private schools.
Some of the campaign material that will go out to schools and families before the federal election.
The 2018 Gonski review into school funding was designed to level the playing field for Australian students regardless of the school they attend.
Clare said non-government schools were funded at the level David Gonski said they should be.
“Under Labor, that’s guaranteed,” he said. “The problem is public schools aren’t.”
This year the federal government will provide $8.7 billion in recurrent funding to private schools.
When working out the net recurrent income per student, a school’s income – comprising everything from federal, state or territory contributions to donations, charges, fees and fundraising – is calculated. Deductions for capital are also noted, as is whether the school is government, Catholic or independent.
Schools then receive Commonwealth funding based on an estimate of how much total public funding they require to meet students’ educational needs.
Catt said while school funding was complex, parents should make informed decisions at the ballot box.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in Politics
>read more at © Sydney Morning Herald
Views: 0