Acid on Premier Hodgman to Stick to His Pre-election Commitment
The unsurprising but devastating decision by the federal government to cut year five and six of the Gonski funding puts the acid squarely on Tasmania’s Premier Will Hodgman to uphold his election commitment to guarantee the state’s contribution regardless of any federal cuts, Greens Education spokesperson Nick McKim MP said.
“Not only is this a budget that will entrench disadvantage and widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, but schools will now miss out on the massive increases in federal funding that were due in year five and six of the Gonski reforms.”
“While Mr Abbott, Mr Hockey and Mr Pyne are responsible for trashing a once in a generation opportunity to properly fund Australia’s schools, Mr Hodgman guaranteed before the election to fund the state’s contribution for years five and six regardless of commonwealth funding levels.”
“Tasmania’s schools could still benefit from significant extra funding if Mr Hodgman holds firm to his commitment.”
“Two-thirds of the Gonski funding was due to be delivered in years five and six. Mr Abbott has now squibbed on that, and Mr Hodgman needs to today reaffirm his pre-election commitment so provide Tasmania’s school communities have some certainty,” Mr McKim said.
Nick McKim MP | Greens Education spokesperson
