Fairer Australia Campaign Public Meeting

Angelo Gavrielatos

Senior Vice President, of NSW Teachers Federation and Deputy Federal President of the Australian Education Union

Good evening, and thank you all very much for coming to this meeting tonight to discuss these issues that cut to the heart of what constitutes a fair society.

Public education has been consistently undermined by the current government. Not only has funding been slashed and diverted away from the public sector, but they have attacked schools on the basis that they are too 'values neutral' and that they do not provide a moral education for our students.
Let me put to you that we don't teach fear, we don't teach hat and we certainly don't values the lies and deception that are a hallmark of this government over the last number of years. Public education, schools and universities are under unprecedented attack by this government. The very values that underpin public education and universities are under attack. The values of equity, the values of fairness the values of the pursuit of excellence for all, rather the Australian government has failed to deliver for the majority of Australian students and their parents ensuring that the major beneficiaries of their policies are the wealthier sectors of society and indeed those who subscribe to private education.

The biggest increases by this government by this government with respect to their school funding policies it must be remembered, it must be emphasised over and over again have gone to the wealthiest, richest private schools in this nation. And just to illustrate with you that point, I'll share with you just one statistic in terms of increases over the last number of years. Trinity Grammar, a very wealthy school in Sydney has received funding increases over the period of 2001-2004 in the order of 220%, this year alone, 5.48 million dollars courtesy of the Howard government, yet over the same period of time, John Howard's alma mater, Canterbury Boys High School down the road only received an increase in the order of 20% in funding from the Howard Government.

There is something terribly wrong in any policy that delivers such a preposterous increase to the wealthiest and such a negligible increase when you take out inflation to our public schools. With almost 70% of students going to public schools nation-wide, this government has chosen that for the period of 2005-2008 they will give those students only 26.3% of federal government recurrent funding. And almost … I'll repeat these figures because I'm often questioned about these figures, often people cant believe it….70%, or to be precise, 69% of students in public schools nation wide will have only been allocated for the period of 2005-2008 will only have been allocated 26.3% of federal government recurrent funding. The inverse of course being that the 31% of students in private schools will be the recipient of 73.7% of federal government recurrent funding. There is no other nation in the world, in the world, where this applies and this exists. It is preposterous and its at the expense of public education and indeed the values that underpin it.

Furthermore, the needs of 40 000 preschool aged students are ignored. The federal government has vacated the field. There is no contribution by the federal Government with respect to preschool education and there's also been at the other end of the spectrum, an effective cut of 50 000 places for TAFE. That is what the unmet demand in TAFE is estimated at. 50 000 students denied funding to um continue their education. Similarly, much needed funding for indigenous Australians, 88% of whom are in public schools is at a very, very low mark.

This is all happening at the same time that tertiary education is being priced out of the market for most Australians. Universities as of this year will increase their HECS fees, most of them if not all of them, by 25%. In addition to that, 30 of the universities will be able to allocate 35% of all places to full-fee paying students. What that basically means is students that would otherwise enter their university of the basis of merit will be denied on the basis of those positions being targeted for full fee paying students.

With respect to industrial relations its determination to undermine the right of workers to organise and its persistence with unfair dismissal legislation which would make it easier for employers to sack people reinforces the fact that the Howard Government works for the unfettered right of workers over bosses. This is further illustrated if you like, by way of their policy positions, by their role in the MWA dispute and also the political farce called the Royal Commission into the Building Industry.

With respect to the ALP, the Greens and Democrats, those of us in the education sector will be closely analysing their policies as they continue to be announced in the context of the federal election.

What I say to those candidates, that what we'll be seeking, and the views that we'll be expressing, will be such and be driven by our belief that there must be a priority commitment to public education, there must be a redistribution of funds from private schools to public schools, there must be a significant increase in funding for public schools and TAFE colleges and their also must be a commitment to increase funding in those equity areas for our poorer students and our most disadvantaged students.

In conclusion I want to leave you with this thought, and I'm often challenged when I offer this proposition by our indigenous brothers and sisters with very good reason, but I put this proposition to you. If Australia, and I think it's accurate to say we can describe Australia in this way, can be described as a cohesive, tolerant and multicultural democracy, it's because of 150 years of public education, and a common shared experience by the overwhelming majority of its citizens. I ask you to contemplate and think what the same society might look like in 20 years, 30, 40 or in 50 years time if we continue down this path of state sponsored segregation when we educate on the basis of religion, ethnicity and wealth. There's not a thought that I would think we would welcome if it would come to fruition in terms of our tolerant and multicultural Australia.

Public education, my friends, is the key to a vibrant, multicultural and democratic Australia.

Thank you.