Coalition Senators' additional comments

1.1On 10 October 2024, the Senate referred the provisions of the Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill 2024 (bill) to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee (committee) for inquiry and report by 18November2024.

1.2The primary purpose of the bill is to amend the Australian Education Act 2013 to enable the Commonwealth's share of funding for government schools to be increased.

1.3The Albanese Government says the bill is all about delivering its election commitment to 'put every school on a path to its full and fair funding' under its so-called Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, formerly known as the National School Reform Agreement, which ended on 31 December 2023 but was extended for another year.

1.4Notwithstanding Labor's commitment, it is important to reiterate the Commonwealth is currently meeting its 20 per cent share of Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding to government schools as legislated. It is the states and the Northern Territory which have fallen short to varying degrees—Queensland's SRS contribution to government schools is just 69 per cent, well below the 80 per cent requirement, and Victoria is not much better at 70 per cent. Northern Territory is just 59percent.

1.5It was always misleading for Labor to claim it would 'fully fund' government schools when the Commonwealth was, in fact, fully meeting its agreed funding obligations to government schools.

School funding and reform impasse

1.6Despite all of Labor's spin and rhetoric, two and a half years after the Albanese Government was elected, there is still no national school funding agreement in place as from 1 January 2025, and no national agreement on the school reforms Labor promised to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach his or her best potential.

1.7Coalition senators note the Commonwealth has reached bilateral agreements with the Tasmanian and West Australian governments to lift its contribution to government schools from 20 per cent of the SRS to 22.5 per cent.For government schools in the Northern Territory, the Commonwealth's share will be a much more significant 40 per cent from 2029, recognising the dire challenges facing Territory schools, particularly in remote communities.

1.8However, just six weeks before the current agreement is to expire, a funding impasse remains with the New South Wales, Queensland, Victorian, South Australian, and Australian Capital Territory governments.

1.9With one in three students not meeting expected proficiency levels in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), there is nothing better or fairer about leaving more than 5500 government schools across the nation—83 per cent of government schools—in limbo.

Proposed school reforms are inadequate

1.10While the Australian Government (government) is proposing, in its draft heads of agreement, a number of important reforms including evidence-based teaching interventions, screening tests such as the Year 1 phonics and numeracy check and improved student attendance and performance targets, these reforms are both light on detail and inadequate.

1.11School funding agreements between the Commonwealth and the states and territories represent a very important opportunity to deliver nationally aligned reforms in every classroom. It is regrettable the current draft agreement does not include greater detail about what it means to deliver evidence-based teaching or how it should be implemented in every classroom.

1.12The draft agreement also says nothing about the need to further improve the national curriculum or deliver crucial reforms to combat classroom disruption such as a national behaviour curriculum, particularly given that Australia has some of the unruliest classrooms in the world.

1.13For instance, during the Senate inquiry public hearing, the president of the Australian Government Primary Principals Association, Mr Patrick Murphy, testified that the national curriculum is impossible to teach in primary school and that teachers needed a simpler curriculum to focus on literacy and numeracy.[1]

1.14With 13 000 Indigenous children not enrolled at school, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principals Association president, Mrs Dyonne Anderson, told the hearing that the requirement to teach First Nations perspectives was not enough to engage Indigenous children. She said 'cross-curriculum priorities certainly have not enabled greater access for First Nations children. It's still a bit of a hit-and-miss approach'.[2]

1.15Australia has some of the world's unruliest classrooms, sitting 71st out of 81countries on the disciplinary climate index in the 2022 PISA results (released December 2023).[3] The PISA results found that 25 per cent of surveyed students could not work effectively, 33 per cent were inattentive and a 40 per cent were distracted by digital devices.[4]

1.16It is regrettable the government has not addressed the importance of combating classroom disruption including important recommendations made by the Education and Employment References Committee, such as the adoption of a national behaviour curriculum and a national behaviour survey of students.

Coalition record

1.17Over nine years, the former Coalition Government nearly doubled annual school funding—from $13 billion in 2013 to $25.3 billion in 2022.Our Quality Schools Package drove record funding of $318.9 billion to all schools between 2018–2019.

1.18The Coalition also strengthened the curriculum with stronger evidence-based content including teaching phonics and the science of reading, improved teacher training, backed our high achieving teachers and delivered best-practice literacy and numeracy programs to close the gap.

Conclusion

1.19The delivery of a back-to-basics education sharply focused on literacy and numeracy, underpinned by evidence-based teaching methods such as explicit instruction, is critical to raising school standards.

1.20Coalition Senators urge the Albanese Government to get on with the critical job of finalising school funding and reform agreements with every state and territory to provide government schools, and the students they serve, with the certainty they deserve.

Footnotes

[1]Mr Patrick Murphy, President, Australian Government Primary Principals Association, Proof Committee Hansard, 13 November 2024, p. 23.

[2]Mrs Dyonne Anderson, President, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principals Association, Proof Committee Hansard, 13 November 2024, pp. 21 and 24.

[3]Christpoher Harris, 'Noisy, disruptive, distracted: Australian classrooms among world's worst', Sydney Morning Herald, 7 December 2023.

[4]OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) - Country Notes: Australia (accessed 18 November 2024)