Call for more State education spending

Federal Education Minister Mr Peter Garrett and Labor Member for Robertson Ms Deborah O'Neill have called on the State Liberal Government to increase education spending at a forum with principals, teachers and parents held at Umina Public School on Tuesday, December 11.

"Under our plan, funding for every school will rise every year, and the extra money will be spent on things we know will help improve results, like investing in great teachers, focusing on school improvement, and giving more power to local principals," Mr Garrett said.

"We want Australia to be in the top five countries in the world in school performance by 2025.

"The Gillard Government is prepared to invest substantial amounts of money over time to make this a reality, and we're also asking State Governments to pay their fair share.

"Today's event was a great opportunity to discuss the details of our plan with local primary and high school principals, teachers and parents and answer their questions about the National Plan for School Improvement," said Mr Garrett.

Ms O'Neill said local schools were already benefitting from the record Federal investment in school education.

"Here at Umina Public School, we see brand new classrooms and refurbished facilities thanks to more than $2.5 million in funding under the Building the Education Revolution," she said.

"But for our plan to be implemented in NSW we need the O'Farrell Government to get on board and play their part, including investing their fair share of extra funding," Ms O'Neill said.

Media Release, 11 Dec 2012

Peter McCabe, Office of Deborah O'Neill MP