THE war of words over education funding ahead of the federal election has escalated, with New England MP Barnaby Joyce saying “no money has been cut” and that, in fact, spending would go up under a Coalition government.
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The campaign lobby group Voices of New England has accused Mr Joyce of misleading the New England electorate about the Coalition’s education spending.
Kirsten Grace, a spokeswoman for the apolitical alliance of community groups, said since it had come to power the government had taken $30 billion out of funding for schools, and put back $1.2 billion, leaving $28.8 billion missing.
“Barnaby Joyce is trying to convince people that black is white by arguing that the government has increased funding to education,” Ms Grace said. “The Liberal-Nationals’ cuts to education are real, they are drastic and they will hurt local schools ...
“Before the last federal election, Mr Joyce said he believed ‘without a shadow of a doubt’ that the
Liberal-National Coalition would continue to commit to Gonski funding past the first term.
“Now Mr Joyce doesn’t even turn up for education forums here in Tamworth – in fact, he missed one just last week.
“There are two parts to being a good member of Parliament, particularly if you are Deputy Prime Minister: telling the truth and being able to do simple sums. Mr Joyce has failed on both counts.”
However, Mr Joyce said the government wasn’t cutting education funding, as Labor’s policy was built on a “tax and spend approach”, and the $30 billion figure was calculated by Labor over a 10-year period starting in 2017.
“The former prime minister Julia Gillard left the trap of six years of Gonski, with only four years’ guaranteed funding,” Mr Joyce said.
“The Turnbull government’s funding to schools is going to continue to increase from its current record levels, despite the scare campaign being peddled by Labor and the unions.
“We are spending a record $73.6 billion over the forward estimates. An additional $1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020 will be tied to a needs-based distribution of funding and reforms in our schools, to help every parent have confidence that their child is receiving the teaching they require.”