Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull responded to a question by  Education opposition spokeswomanTanya Plibersek in question time about the apparent loss of funding for Peel High School under the government’s proposed new funding model.

Deputy Prime Minister and Member for New England Barnaby Joyce praised Mr Turnbull this week saying that the figures Labor referred to were promised under the previous government but were never going to be funded, and the Coalition Government had committed to a responsible “needs-based” funding model.

“The Shadow Minister for Education used unfunded figures provided by the Teachers Union that incorrectly stated that Peel High School in my Electorate would “lose $1.68 million over the next two years”, when in fact it will increase by more than $8.5 million over the next 10 years,” Mr Joyce said.

 “The Prime Minister was right in responding that at Peel High School he could see by looking at our schools funding estimator online in 2017 the funding per student from the Commonwealth is estimated at $4,171 and by 2027 it will be $6,659.”

“This is a common occurrence across the New England Electorate, with the total increase in Federal Government funding for schools in New England over the next ten years set at $423 million.”