PM’s learning curve

Turnbull moves to soothe tensions over $1.7b school funding

LABOR is claiming victory on Malcolm Turnbull’s “humiliating admission” on school funding, as the Prime Minister moves to douse damaging tensions with Catholic schools.

The Catholic school sector chalked up a win in the Queensland seat of Longman after campaigning hard against the policy approach of the Government, which suffered a bruising by-election defeat.

A deal to restore a funding shortfall of $1.7 billion for Catholic schools over the next decade is expected to be reached within weeks after the Prime Minister seized control of the issue, News Corp reports.

However, it is understood from Catholic education sources that nothing concrete has been offered.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said Mr Turnbull had spent the past 12 months calling Mr Shorten a liar and saying there was no problem for Catholic schools.

“Now he’s received an electoral smack on the bottom over his cuts to school funding, he’s now going to sing a different song,” Mr Shorten told reporters in Burnie yesterday.

“I’ll put Mr Turnbull on notice. It’s a stunning admission that you now acknowledge Labor’s been telling the truth and you’ve been lying on the funding of Catholic schools.”

The Opposition is urging the Government to reverse cuts to all schools, which they say amount to $17 billion.

“Malcolm Turnbull has been forced into a humiliating admission that his school funding policy is in crisis,” Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said.

Catholic Labor senator Kristina Keneally told Sky News the PM had thrown Education Minister Simon Birmingham under the bus by intervening.

But cabinet minister Steven Ciobo said the Government was putting record funding into the education system.

Modelling commissioned by the Catholic sector found 350 schools would be forced to close across Australia if the current funding model was continued.