NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says he will need to make cuts in other areas to fund his state's share of the proposed education reforms. picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Limited
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has warned of further belt-tightening if the state government is to find the $1.7 billion needed to meet the federal government's proposed education reforms.
He said the state government supported "the broad thrust" of the Gonski reforms, which will be discussed by cabinet when it meets later this afternoon.
"State finances are tight... if the (money) is to be found it will only happen through further budget savings and belt-tightening," he told reporters in Sydney.
"I don't have $1.7 billion sitting around ready to go."
Mr O'Farrell said he would speak with other premiers over coming days and expected to have a clear idea if NSW would be able to find the savings to sign up to the reforms by the end of the week.
Julia Gillard has unveiled details of Labor's school improvement plan.
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meets to discuss the matter on Friday.
NSW would pocket $5 billion of the $14.5 billion the federal government wants to pump into the national education system over the next six years.
Mr O'Farrell orefused to sell state assets to pay for the reforms, saying: "You don't sell off parts of your house to pay (your) mortgage".
"This is a commitment not just for four years, if Gonski is to be agreed to it's a commitment that goes into the future," he added.
The PM says overcoming state and university opposition to deliver school funding reforms is worth the fight.
The premier also rejected suggestions the money could be found by winding back school transport subsides.
"That's one of the informal suggestions that has come through federal officials," he said.
"I don't want to have the best resourced schools in Australia but have a situation where parents can't afford to use transport to get those children to those schools."
Opposition Leader John Robertson described the federal offer as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and called on Mr O'Farrell to do the right thing by the state's students and get behind the reforms.
Kathryn Greiner, an expert panel member of the Gonski review, said the states should be prepared to negotiate with the federal government to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ms Greiner was speaking after signing a letter with 15 members of NGOs urging the states to accept the funding reforms. The letter will be presented at COAG.
She said it was understandable that states such as Western Australia and NSW would be opposed to some of the aspects of the review, but the reforms met the states' different needs.
"This is now trying to tailor-make the funding to the schools, to the families and have the educational outcomes achievable for all children," she said.
She said Prime Minister Julia Gillard may have to be prepared to fund other kinds of needs as a compromise.
Cassandra Goldie of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) said the cuts to the university sector to pay for the package was an acceptable compromise if Australians didn't want to pay more tax.
"If we as a country are not prepared to be paying generally more tax, we have to be prepared to be targeting government revenue where we really need it the most."
Earlier, the Victorian premier accused the prime minister of robbing universities to pay for the proposed school education reforms.
He attacked Ms Gillard's decision to cut university funding to help pay for the reforms.
"This is very disappointing that the prime minister is seeking to rob Peter to pay Paul, rob the universities to pay for primary and secondary education," Dr Napthine told reporters.
He said the government had failed to properly consult with the states before releasing information to the media.
"I would have thought a more professional approach would have been to have proper information given to states and territories well in advance so they could analyse it ... before they attend the meeting."
Under Ms Gillard's plan, the states would fund about 35 per cent of the Gonski reforms.
Dr Napthine said he would also raise the issue of mobile telephone reception in the bush at Friday's COAG meeting.
"It seems extraordinary to me that when you're within 150 kilometres of Melbourne you can have a fundamental black spot," Dr Napthine said.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has already said it's not too much to ask universities to slow their growth rates to help deliver school funding reforms.
But university leaders have criticised the government's move to cut tertiary funding to help pay for the initiative.
The prime minister told ABC Radio earlier today that under the Labor government, funding to universities had increased by more than 50 per cent.
Overnight businessman David Gonski, who chaired Labor's review on which its reforms are based, questioned major cuts to tertiary funding.
Last night Mr Gonski said he wasn't asked to consider how the review panel's recommendations could be paid for, declaring: "I fervently believe in and will continue to advocate that increases be made in funding the university sector."
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She said universities were now only being asked to moderate their rate of growth, taking a two per cent efficiency dividend one year and a 1.25 per cent efficiency dividend a second year.
"It's not a cut in the sense of you've got less next year than you had this year," she said.
"Universities will still see more money, it's just the rate of growth in that money will be less."
Ms Gillard said Asian nations were pumping up their education systems and for Australia to have a strong economy with high-skilled, high-wage jobs in the future, it had to get school education right.
"I don't think in that context it's too much to ask our universities that have seen the amount of resources into them growing strongly, to moderate growth rates for a couple of years," she said.
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Ms Gillard's proposed reforms will also require state governments to pitch in funds with NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell describing them as "ambitious and visionary", but he questioned how his state would pay its share.
Mr O'Farrell said his cabinet will consider signing up to the plan to boost schools funding, but warns budget cuts will have to be made elsewhere.
NSW would need to contribute $1.7 billion to the $5 billion promised to it by the commonwealth, Mr O'Farrell said.
Cabinet would consider its options ahead of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on Friday, he said.
Mr O'Farrell said the NSW government has always supported the Gonski reforms, but it will be difficult to come up with the extra money.
"Having lost $5 billion in federal GST refunds last year, it'll be tough to find the $1.7 billion being asked of us by the federal government," Mr O'Farrell told ABC Radio today.
"If we were to sign up to Gonski, we would have to find further savings across the budget."
Mr O'Farrell said the state government would have to look at the details of the proposal.
"(and) whether we're able through targeted savings, more fat trimming and belt tightening, to be able to afford not just the $1.7 billion over the next four years but the ongoing costs," he said.
Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said it would be "irresponsible" of Ms Gillard to proceed with the new funding model after the COAG meeting if any of the states and territories were in disagreement.
"If the prime minister thinks that is viable, then she really has lost it," he told Sky News today.
He said the current funding model introduced by the Howard government was "perfectly good" and the coalition would index that on the current arrangements which meant around six per cent.
This was more than the 4.7 per cent the government was offering, Mr Pyne said.
West Australian Liberal Premier Colin Barnett is among those voicing opposition to the plan and he said Prime Minister Gillard has shown a low regard for students in his state.
Mr Barnett said the proposal would be a "massive backward step" for the funding of state government schools.
His state would gain an extra $300 million, while NSW would see $5 billion and Victoria $4 billion, under the proposal.
"If you look at it on a state-by-state basis, you can see the brazen politics in this," Mr Barnett told ABC radio today. "A disdain for Western Australia and West Australian children."
The federal government has denied "playing politics'" with its proposed education reforms after Mr Barnett claimed it was a terrible deal for his state.
But federal education minister Peter Garrett denied it was about winning seats and said WA was not losing out under the Gonski model.
"Each state is at a different starting point in reaching that schooling resource standard - some states are much closer than others," he told ABC Radio on Monday.
While the amount given to WA would be less than states like Tasmania, the contribution from the Tasmanian government was also greater, Mr Garrett said.
He said the distribution varied according to need and how much the schools received from their state governments, and praised the WA government for its strong investment in schools.
Mr Garrett said he was "cautiously optimistic" the states could reach an agreement with the federal government at this week's Council of Australian Governments meeting.
He later tweeted: "Is Colin Barnett really going to turn down $300 million more for WA schools? That's enough for about 500 more teachers".
"Schools in WA will be worse off by $560 million in next five years if WA doesn't sign up to our plan."
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said his government couldn't afford to put in the $1 billion more into education to fund the reforms without imposing massive cuts to other areas.
"I don't see where our money will come from without cuts to something else," the Premier said.
"I can't believe they're going to find the money, because they don't have it. The whole thing should be held in the balance until there's a federal election."
But Ms Gillard says the federal government has made a good offer and now it's down to the Queensland government "and the budget choices it's prepared to make".
"You live in a world of tough choices. We've made some to put our kids first. I'm obviously asking Premier Newman to do the same," she told ABC radio.
"That is to make sure that every child goes to a school that is properly resourced and that we get the school funding system right for generations to come.
"Our competitors are improving their schools. If we just sit and let them get in front then that only ends one way ... with us having a weaker economy and less ability to have the high-skilled, high-paid jobs of the future."
Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said he was unsure whether the funding would have a positive impact on the state's schools.
"As a parent I'm confused, I'm sure teachers and students and principals are confused as well," he said.
"That's something we need to clarify, to make sure that our worse-off schools do not continue to be worse off under a standard that the federal government set originally."
But South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill said the $600 million for his state would give pupils extra support in the classrooms.
"That is what we have been working very hard with the commonwealth to try to reach agreement," Mr Weatherill said.
Under the proposed school resource standard, the amount for 2014 would be $9271 per primary school student and $12,193 for every secondary pupil.
And there would be extra money per student and loadings for schools with disadvantaged pupils, including indigenous children, those with disabilities and depending on a school's size or location.
