Corangamite and Corio schools have been delivered a massive boost in funding by the Turnbull government in Federal Parliament overnight.

Following negotiations in the Senate, we have seen funding to our Gonski 2.0 education plan for Australian schools increased by $4.9 billion and the timetable for its delivery expedited.

Our Gonski 2.0 ‘need based’ education plan will now deliver an estimated extra $23.5 billion in fair, needs based funding to Australian schools. Total spending is now estimated to be $247.1 billion over 2018-2027.

The new legislation ensures a fairer, needs-based funding arrangement and removes the special deals and complexities from the previous inherited model from Labor.

Our plan delivers funding faster to schools most in need, for example, those currently receiving less than their share of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).  For regional schools in Corio and Corangamite which are generally “under-funded”, this is a very significant win.

Instead of having schools transition to their share of SRS over 150 years as Labor had originally proposed, the Government’s reforms means those schools below their share of the SRS will transition in 6 years. This means schools and students most in need will receive more funding, and sooner.

Across Australia, $46 million in transition funds will be available to Catholic and independent schools in 2018.

This is a landmark reform for Corangamite and Corio students, families and school communities.

We’re removing the inequities and 27 special deals the previous Labor Government stitched up that distorted needs-based funding.  It’s extremely disappointing that the Labor Party and the unions have done everything possible to block this recording funding deal for Australian students.

David Gonski, many of the members of the Gonski Panel, the Mitchell Institute, the Grattan Institute and a range of impartial stakeholders have endorsed what the Turnbull Government has put forward.

Corio MP Richard Marles has voted against the biggest ever boost to funding ever delivered for schools in his electorate and across the nation.

Based on the previous funding package (meaning the $18.6 billion schools funding package):

• Corangamite electorate schools will receive $1.06 million over 10 years which represents an additional $233 million. Corio electorate schools will receive $1.9 billion over 10 years which represents an additional $406 million
• For instance, Northern Bay P-12 College will receive a total of $83 million over 10 years from the Commonwealth (as the minority funder) which represents an additional investment by our government of $21 million.
• In 2017, Catholic schools across Australia will receive $6.3 billion and in Victoria $1.84 billion from the Commonwealth.  In 2027, this increases by 53 per cent to $9.74 billion across Australia and by 59 per cent to $2.93 billion in Victoria.   Between 2017 and 2027, catholic education funding across Corangamite increases by 39.8%.

Updated figures to reflect the latest changes passed by the Australian Parliament (ie the $23.5 billion package) will be available in the coming week.

To increase transparency of Commonwealth public funding to all schools and to ensure that parents understand the Commonwealth’s funding allocation to their child’s school, the Government has released a school funding estimator at https://www.education.gov.au/quality-schools.

23 June 2017