The Government voted against my call for them to establish a capital works fund dedicated to public schools. Once again they demonstrated their commitment to over-funding private schools while public education is left behind. We need to fully fund all public schools to the national standard and make sure they have the infrastructure funding they need to meet enrolment growth.
The Motion
To move-That the Senate-
(a) notes that:
(i) seventy-six percent of school enrolment growth in the 5 years to 2018 was in public schools,
(ii) across Australia, public schools have the greatest need for infrastructure such as classrooms, libraries, science labs or sporting facilities,
(iii) the Federal Government has established a dedicated Capital Grants Program, which is only available to non-government schools,
(iv) the only access public schools have to federal infrastructure funding is the Local Schools Community Fund, which consists of a one-off allocation of $200,000 to each electorate, which will be shared with private schools and will fall well short of the needs of public schools, and
(v) public school students deserve world-class facilities; and
(b) calls on the Federal Government to establish a capital works fund dedicated to public schools.
