EDUCATION FUNDING

Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. How much more will non-government schools receive in 2014 over and above the existing indexation model under the new education funding agreement signed with the Gillard government on Friday?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:57): The agreement that has been signed with the federal government to deliver a new funding model for schools here in South Australia will not be delivered under the existing indexation model. Under the existing indexation model, we would see schools in South Australia effectively going backwards and I am happy to explain why that would be. It is the Australian government school recurrent costs index and that is based, and struck, according to the investment that states around Australia put into public education. What we have seen is—

Mr PISONI: Point of order: my question referred specifically to non-government schools. The minister is talking about public education.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: No, I am not. I am talking about—

The SPEAKER: I will adjudicate the member for Unley's point of order. I will listen carefully to what the minister has to say. Minister.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Under the old model, the indexation rate that is used for non-government schools is determined through the amount of funding that states put into their education systems. Under the old model, my understanding is that schools would be going backwards as far as their indexation is concerned simply because other states around Australia have reduced their contribution to education. So in fact our non-government and Catholic schools would have been going backwards.

Instead of that, they will next year be getting something like an additional $18 million for Catholic schools and $17 million for independent schools all up. There will be something like $197 million extra funding going into our Catholic schooling sector over six years and $186 million dollars going into the independent schooling sector. I guess the overarching question that remains is: does the member for Unley support these schools getting that extra funding?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister, what the member for Unley supports or does not support is of no relevance.