Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2016-06-27
Can the minister please update the House on why the Country Liberal government has made the right decision by not signing up for Gonski?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, both Territory Labor and the federal Labor opposition have backed the wrong education reforms with their unrelenting comments on the so-called Gonski funding model. David Gonski himself will not endorse Labor’s federal funding promises. He clearly states that it was a needs-based funding model that he pushed for, which is what we already had in the Northern Territory.
Mr Gonski was clear; he never outlined a Gonski figure for a quantum amount of funding that would guarantee …
Members interjecting.
Mr CHANDLER: They do not want to listen to the answer. They can keep talking all they like, it seems.
David Gonski pushed for a needs-based funding model, not an unlimited bucket of money. This government has implemented a needs-based funding model which was developed by one of the most experienced academics in the field, in Australia. The Gonski model offered by the federal government would not have worked for the Northern Territory. The funding was not flexible and was tied to reporting regimes.
This government has fought to free Territory schools from excessive central control and give them the flexibility to best reflect the needs of the communities. Western Australia and Queensland also did not sign. When we lost the $272m when we did not sign up to Gonski, both the WA and Queensland governments lost a considerable amount more.
Through successive negotiations with my colleagues, the Coalition government in Canberra, the NT has been provided Students First funding, with an additional $272m over and above what was expected under the Gonski model. The Labor opposition and its union mates want to forget about the hard-working remote Territory independent schools and the vital role they play in education in remote schools.
Under this government Territory students have achieved their best results ever. A CLP government will continue to focus on what works. We are fiscally responsible and recognise that spending more money on education does not equal better outcomes for students. The Country Liberals and the Coalition have it right.
Let us look at what we are doing, which works. There is a strong alternative to the Gonski funding model, and we have it in the Northern Territory. While all schools deserve adequate funding equally, education experts outline that it is equally important to ensure all schools have effective and committed teachers, a rigorous curriculum, a disciplined classroom environment and a school culture that promises high expectations.
With this in mind, Territory Labor and its federal counterparts still commit to the Gonski mantra. I have said before that in the first four years of the Gonski model there were mild increases in funding, but in years five and six – where was this money coming and what services would be cut from other industries to find it? Bazinga. They cannot commit to this money because they do not have it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, both Territory Labor and the federal Labor opposition have backed the wrong education reforms with their unrelenting comments on the so-called Gonski funding model. David Gonski himself will not endorse Labor’s federal funding promises. He clearly states that it was a needs-based funding model that he pushed for, which is what we already had in the Northern Territory.
Mr Gonski was clear; he never outlined a Gonski figure for a quantum amount of funding that would guarantee …
Members interjecting.
Mr CHANDLER: They do not want to listen to the answer. They can keep talking all they like, it seems.
David Gonski pushed for a needs-based funding model, not an unlimited bucket of money. This government has implemented a needs-based funding model which was developed by one of the most experienced academics in the field, in Australia. The Gonski model offered by the federal government would not have worked for the Northern Territory. The funding was not flexible and was tied to reporting regimes.
This government has fought to free Territory schools from excessive central control and give them the flexibility to best reflect the needs of the communities. Western Australia and Queensland also did not sign. When we lost the $272m when we did not sign up to Gonski, both the WA and Queensland governments lost a considerable amount more.
Through successive negotiations with my colleagues, the Coalition government in Canberra, the NT has been provided Students First funding, with an additional $272m over and above what was expected under the Gonski model. The Labor opposition and its union mates want to forget about the hard-working remote Territory independent schools and the vital role they play in education in remote schools.
Under this government Territory students have achieved their best results ever. A CLP government will continue to focus on what works. We are fiscally responsible and recognise that spending more money on education does not equal better outcomes for students. The Country Liberals and the Coalition have it right.
Let us look at what we are doing, which works. There is a strong alternative to the Gonski funding model, and we have it in the Northern Territory. While all schools deserve adequate funding equally, education experts outline that it is equally important to ensure all schools have effective and committed teachers, a rigorous curriculum, a disciplined classroom environment and a school culture that promises high expectations.
With this in mind, Territory Labor and its federal counterparts still commit to the Gonski mantra. I have said before that in the first four years of the Gonski model there were mild increases in funding, but in years five and six – where was this money coming and what services would be cut from other industries to find it? Bazinga. They cannot commit to this money because they do not have it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016