LABOR TO TRANSFORM PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH RECORD INVESTMENT

A Shorten Labor Government will deliver the biggest investment in public schools in Australian history, ensuring that every child in every school gets the education they deserve.

Labor will deliver an extra $14 billion for public schools over the next decade, with $3.3 billion extra flowing in the first three school years alone.

 

 

The extra $14 billion for public schools is the equivalent of more than:

This will transform public schools across Australia and give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential – no matter where they live, or how much their parents earn.

 

This boost will ensure public schools have the funding they need to give students more individual attention, and more help with the basics such as reading, writing, maths, and science.

It will allow public schools to offer a broader range of subjects including languages, coding, the arts, and vocational education.                                                                                                                                                         

Labor believes that for parents to have real choice about where they send their kids, governments have a responsibility to make sure our public schools are second to none.

The fact is the things that make a difference in our schools - such as more individual attention and excellent teaching – require more funding. 

As a condition of this funding, Labor will require state and territory governments to sign up to a national plan to improve schools with clear and ambitious goals and targets, and invest strongly in their schools too.

 

Public schools teach two in three of all school students, and the overwhelming majority of Australia’s neediest children: 82 per cent of the poorest children; 84 per cent of Indigenous children; and 74 per cent of children with disabilities.

 

But because of Scott Morrison’s cuts, almost nine in ten public schools will never get to their fair funding level.

 

Labor wants every public school to reach 100 per cent of its fair funding level, and we will work with the states and territories to achieve this.

 

Over the last five years all the Liberals have done is attack public schools and slash their funding. 

 

Scott Morrison doesn’t think the 2.5 million students in the public school system deserve fair funding – he thinks he can get away with his cuts.

                        

Australians didn’t vote for Scott Morrison, and they didn’t vote for his $14 billion cuts to public schools.

 

It’s time Australians had a government that cares about the same issues they care about.

 

We’ve made tough and overdue decisions to rein in unfair tax concessions that predominantly benefit the wealthy so we can fund the priorities that will make a fairer and more successful nation.

 

This announcement builds on Labor’s plan to introduce two years of preschool in the years before school, giving our children access to 15 years of quality education.

 

Bill Shorten and Labor will fully reverse Scott Morrison’s cuts and invest record funding – so every school can be a great school.

 

The additional Commonwealth funding for public schools has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.