Motions

Public School Funding

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:58): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the release of A decade of inequity report commissioned by the Australian Education Union which found:

(a) public schools in South Australia educate proportionally twice the number of students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools and 3.5 times the number of First Nations students than private schools;

(b) under current settings, South Australian public schools will continue to be underfunded by the commonwealth and state governments by $1.8 billion over the next five years, while private schools will be overfunded by $79.7 million;

(c) every public school student in South Australia will be underfunded by $2,003 in 2024, rising to $2,259 in 2028; and

(d) on a per-student basis, every private school student in South Australia will receive $598 above their full School Resource Standard in combined state and commonwealth funding this year.

2. Calls on the federal government to increase their share to a minimum 25 per cent of the School Resource Standard funding to ensure South Australian public schools are fully funded.

I think it is disgraceful that South Australian public schools are getting such a poor deal. The Greens have been calling this out not just in South Australia but also nationally. I note an article in yesterday's Australian from the private school lobby where they indicated that they will be campaigning against the Greens. Well, of course the private school lobby have an interest in the current funding regime because it operates to their benefit, but it is dudding South Australian public school students of their rightful entitlement and I think it is actually undermining one of the elements that is fundamental to our society and that is this idea that everybody should have a fair go and equal start in life. It is a fundamental thing here in Australia.

Everybody should have a right to free, high-quality education, no matter where they live, no matter what they earn, irrespective of their postcode. The Greens believe that a strong public education system is essential to building a fair, successful and cohesive society. Being able to send your children to a high-quality free public school is not a reality for many South Australians because they are being underfunded. Successive governments have refused to fully fund public schools, which results in overworked teachers, lacking infrastructure and increased out-of-pocket expenses.

Inequality takes many forms, and not being able to afford the materials and services charges or having a school that is not fully funded leads to intergenerational inequality and it makes it very difficult for people to be able to break that cycle. We see investing in our public schools as an investment in our economy, our culture and our society. For many years, the Greens have been campaigning to fully fund public schools. Public schools should be free and they should have enough resources that they need to improve teacher-to-student ratios and upgrade infrastructure and equipment as required.

One of the key issues that I am very passionate about and the Greens have been campaigning on here in this state is scrapping public school fees so that we ensure that public schools are actually genuinely free for parents. We think that is really important in the middle of this cost-of-living crisis. Both the federal government and the state government have a responsibility to fully fund our public schools. All public schools should have the full 100 per cent of the school resource standard, a measure that was defined by the Gonski report over 13 years ago, and yet still our schools are not seeing full funding under that model.

The recent report by the Australian Education Union, titled A Decade of Inequity, demonstrates the inequality between private and public schools, in particular the government funding provided to both types of schools per student. The report finds that in Australia public schools educate more students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools. In particular, public schools educate double the number of First Nations students than private schools, and public schools educate a higher number of students who are linguistically diverse than private schools.

If we are serious about closing the gap for First Nations people, bringing about an end to poverty and reducing inequality, then we need to get serious about fully funding our public schools. It is ludicrous that we have governments in Canberra that are overfunding private school students while simultaneously underfunding our public school students. What is the point of having fully funded independent schools that have massive fees that are often beyond the reach of most South Australians when everybody else is being left behind? The AEU report highlights that it has been over a decade since the review of funding for schooling considered the state of school funding and found that, and I quote from that report:

The cost of this inequity is high, both for individuals who are failing to reach their potential, and for the nation as a whole.

The report highlights the key problem for South Australia: 94 private schools in our state receive greater funding from the commonwealth and state government combined than public schools of a similar size, while hundreds of private schools are funded above their level of need. The AEU provides some South Australian examples of the disparity between schools and the level of government funding.

I will take you through some of those examples because I think they are relevant to this argument. In northern Adelaide, Salisbury East High School receives $17,528 per student, while Tyndale Christian School receives $22,418 per student. If we move down south, Port Noarlunga Primary School receives $13,264 per student, while the local Catholic schools, St John the Apostle and All Saints, both receive over $16,000 per student. What is the rationale for this disparity? One is a public school that is accessible to everybody, and the other is a private school.

In the western suburbs, Seaton receives $17,679 per student, while Mount Carmel College receives $23,604. These numbers clearly demonstrate that something is going seriously wrong with our school funding model. It demonstrates the inequity in government funding. Of course, independent schools have the added benefit of being able to access fees and donations from parents and other sources.

We need to make sure the South Australian students are all given the best start in life, and access to high-quality, affordable education is one of the most important factors in that regard. I ask all members from all sides of politics to consider supporting this motion. It calls on the federal government to increase their funding to our public schools to the full 100 per cent of the school resource standard. Surely all South Australian students deserve that, irrespective of where they go to school.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.