The Liberals’ Steve Doszpot is stamping his tiny feet that the Greens and Labor won’t agree with him about guaranteeing rivers of gold to private schools.
“I presented this motion today to give the Greens and the Labor Party an opportunity to step up an support the non-government education sector, which provides quality educational outcomes for over 40 per cent of Canberra students,” Mr Doszpot said today.
“I’m extremely disappointed that neither party could give the assurance of adequate funding to the over 25,000 students and their parents that chose to send their children to a non-government school in the ACT…
“In fact at a ACT Labor party conference only four years ago, Deputy Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher and former Education Minister, Simon Corbell voted for a motion to ‘unashamedly support’ public education over non-government schools.
In the true spirit of the modern Liberal party Steve promises to make sure that more money which could be spent making public schools good will go to schools parents will already pay to send their children to.
UPDATE: Andrew Barr has been in touch to let us know that Labor and the Greens passed the following motion yesterday instead of Steve’s:
- That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) the old public-private debate is over; and
(b) all children in all schools should get the best education possible;
(2) reaffirms:
(a) its strong support for the Australian Government’s comprehensive review into education funding; and
(b) its strong support for a system that provides the most funding to the neediest schools, whether public, Catholic or independent; and
(3) calls on all parties in this Assembly to:
(a) support needs-based education funding in future; and
(b) work together in the interests of all students in all schools, not to attempt to profit from the politics of division.