The NSW Teachers Federation took its Gonski billboard campaign to the Blue Mountains on Monday, visiting schools at Faulconbridge, Katoomba and Blackheath.
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Federation president Maurie Mulheron met staff and parents at Springwood High School, and Blackheath and Katoomba Public Schools.
The campaign centres on funding the final two years of the Gonski schools funding model which Labor has committed to but not the Coalition.
“Unless you commit to the full six years of funding, the majority of schools - mainly public - will never reap that minimum resource standard that the Gonski panel set,” said Mr Mulheron.
“That’s where the difference between Labor and the Coalition is so dramatic – Labor has committed to funding the full Gonski model… The Turnbull government has not.”
Polling commissioned by the Teachers Federation in April showed the Gonski issue was biting in marginal electorates.
In Macquarie, 36 per cent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for the Coalition if it didn’t continue the Gonski funding. Fifty-eight per cent of Macquarie voters said education was “very important” to them in the federal election.
“We’ll certainly be concentrating on areas of the electorate that need to be convinced that they ought to vote for their kids on July 2,” said Mr Mulheron.
“I think Louise Markus is in real trouble up here on this issue. People’s patience has run out for politicians who won’t deliver for kids.”
But Education Minister Simon Birmingham dismissed the Gonski billboard campaign during a recent visit to the neighbouring Lindsay electorate.
He said he thought people were “increasingly understanding that all sides of politics are promising increased school funding, but that our model is affordable and sustainable”.
“What I find from parents is they want both outstanding educational opportunities for their children, and to know there would be a strong economy and job opportunities when those children finish school or finish their tertiary studies,” he told the Gazette.
“Whoever wins this election, school funding will grow. We’re committed to growing school funding in Australia from $16 billion of federal funding provided this year … up to more than $30 billion that will be available by 2020,” he said.
“The Labor Party have their promises they make in this space but nobody should be pretending that schools who are doing good things today won’t be able to keep doing those good things and more things in future as a result of the increased funding that we’re committing.”
But Mr Mulheron said the minister’s defence “wasn’t a claim that has much credibility”. He said voters knew the issue wasn’t about merely increasing funding but increasing it to the full Gonski levels.
Monday’s visit was the second time the Gonski billboard has toured the electorate with the campaign hitting the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury on May 20 also.
- with Krystyna Pollard