AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
PRESS RELEASE 932
AS COALITION AND LABOR PARTIES AVOID THE PUBLIC EDUCATION QUESTION,
WHAT HAVE THE GREENS TO OFFER?
April 18 2022
The Coalition track record on public funding for public education is abysmal. And public school supporters should put them last on their preferential ballot. The Labor Party are little better, putting off a new deal for public education until 2023. And they are not tackling the private school rorts and deals – some of which are their responsibility.
But the Greens appear to understand the importance of the public school vote. They understand the importance of at least the concept of ‘free education’, although they do not mention ‘secular’ or compulsory’. They criticise private education funding but have no plan for dealing with the private school problem.
The following is their manifesto:
From early childhood to University, education is too expensive.
From early childhood, through to school, university and TAFE, education should be for free, no matter who you are.
Liberal and Labor have allowed too much funding to go to private education and training institutions.
Your vote is powerful, if just a few hundred people change their vote, we can kick the Liberals out, and put the Greens in balance of power.
The Greens plan includes free, high quality early childhood education and public schools that meet everyone’s needs.
We also will abolish student debts, and restore the TAFE system, which has been privatised by Liberal and Labor.
And, we need to ensure that teachers, trainers, support staff, academics and early childhood educators are paid properly.
The Greens plan is for genuinely free education, for everyone.
Did you know:
Many of us have had access to free education – including uni – before. There is no reason why we can’t do it again. The Greens are the only party fighting for it in parliament.
Liberal and Labor have given billions to private schools. At the same time, public schools are underfunded and desperate for resources. This means out-of-pocket costs are hiked up, and parents are forced to pay sometimes thousands of dollars of ‘voluntary fees’. The Liberals have given Government money to private schools for infrastructure whilst public school playgrounds are filled with demountable classrooms, and students and staff swelter through summers without air conditioning.
If we don’t make a big investment in public schools, 99% won’t have the funding they need by 2023.
The Greens plan includes:
- The largest investment in public education of any party
- Make public schools genuinely free, and have the resources every student needs
- Ensure there’s no expenses for parents for out-of-school-hours activities such as sport and music, which should be considered essential parts of the public curriculum
- Increase building and infrastructure funding to $400 m a year and ensure that the majority of funds go to public schools
- Invest $68.5 million to provide free period products in all schools to improve students’ health and wellbeing, reduce period stigma, and ensure that no student has to skip school during their period
- Fund a national roll out of Our Watch’s successful respectful relationships program in all public schools, including pilot programs to help tailor training to address local contexts and maximise the impact.
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