Page 656 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 March 2014
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I believe we have got a strong history of collaboration across the sectors. The establishment of Gold Creek and Holy Spirit is a shared campus on the north side of Canberra, and that is a wonderful example of an innovation between those two schools working together.
The Board of Senior Secondary Studies is well established in that cross-sectoral work, as is the Teacher Quality Institute. Whilst we have two universities, we have three sectors, and it is heartening to see the teaching profession come together through the TQI. Much of the work of the TQI is nation-leading in implementing the Australian professional standards for teachers. It is heartening for the executive of TQI, and I take a quick opportunity to congratulate Anne Ellis and her staff out at TQI for the work they do across the professions for teaching development.
The issue of funding for non-government schools is an absolutely critical point where the feuding between government and non-government schools must be put to bed, and that was the benefit of the national education reform, or the Gonski reforms. One of the critical elements was that, once and for all, funding was based on student need and it did not matter whether it was a government school, a Catholic school or an independent school. Just for the record, over the last 12 years this government’s funding to our Catholic and independent schools has increased by over 93 per cent. So that clearly shows that this government is committed to supporting those sectors.
My colleague Mr Gentleman’s motion yesterday highlighted the issues that all schools are encountering in confirming our funding arrangements with the commonwealth. In December last year the Senate of the Australian parliament announced they would ask a select committee to inquire into and report on the development and implementation of the national school funding arrangements in schools reform.
This government will take an opportunity to provide a submission to that inquiry because it is important that we continue to get the best out of our schools. But I will not shy away from continuing to support the national school reform, or Gonski, as almost everyone is colloquially now calling that national school reform.
One of the key elements of Gonski is, indeed, our six years of funding. Mr Gentleman’s motion yesterday called on the government to continue to implement the national education reform as agreed to with the federal government to achieve positive outcomes for students of the ACT. It also called on the government to seek the commonwealth government’s commitment for the full six years of funding. It also called on us to continue to invest in education for better opportunities for our children and to work towards continuing improvement of results for ACT students.
Yesterday Mr Doszpot and the Canberra Liberals refused to accept that level of investment and commitment from this government. It is a very sad that you would put party politics ahead of the benefit of our Canberra students—
Mr Doszpot: It was your party-political motion that was the problem—
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