Gonski gets the go-ahead
The Federal Government’s legislation to overhaul the nation’s education system has passed the Senate.
The Government has reportedly silenced debate on dozens of other bills to force the Gonski package through Parliament this week. Educational reforms promise to inject $14.5 billion into primary and high school education over six years, with $2.5 billion of that figure coming from the university sector.
So far only New South Wales, South Australia and the ACT have signed on for the sweeping reforms. The Prime Minister has used Question Time to again call on the remaining states and territories to get involved before the deadline expires at the end of the month.
The various Conservative states have come up with different reasons for their reticence; Victoria wants to allocate funding in its own way, Western Australia is concerned it won’t get enough of the money and Queensland feels it was left out of negotiations.
Negotiations will continue, as the Prime Minister promises to deliver “the empowerment of school communities and principals.”