Writer
Trevor Cobbold
Trevor Cobbold is National Convenor of Save Our Schools.
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Labor should scrap the Stage 3 Tax Cuts for the rich
The Albanese Government should scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts for the rich. They are indefensible when public education and other critical human services face a funding crisis. New studies show that there are no trickle-down economic benefits from tax cuts for the rich. They only to boost inequality directly and indirectly. Continue reading »
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A review of “Waiting for Gonski”
The book Waiting for Gonski was published earlier this year on the 10th anniversary of the Gonski Report on school funding. It is a well-researched and well-written account of the history of the Gonski funding model, its flawed implementation including many special deals for private schools and its destruction by successive Coalition governments. It should Continue reading »
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Equity in education must be clearly defined, measured and reported
Equity in education has long been a key national goal for schooling. Most recently, it is one of the key goals in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration of national goals. However, it has never been clearly defined. This deficiency has resulted in a variety of interpretations, inadequate target, limited reporting and lack of accountability for Continue reading »
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Morrison government to over-fund NSW private schools by nearly $1 billion
NSW private schools are massively over-funded by the Commonwealth Government. Estimates based on official figures presented to Senate Estimate show that the NSW Catholic education system and nearly 40% of Independent schools will be over-funded by $865 million by the Commonwealth Government from 2022 to 2028. Continue reading »
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NSW public schools face a funding crisis while private schools are over funded
Public schools in NSW face a funding crisis. Combined Commonwealth and NSW Government funding for private schools has increased by three times that for public schools since 2009-10. Projected funding estimates show that private schools will be over-funded by $2 billion for the rest of the decade while public schools will be under-funded by $21 Continue reading »
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We need to get Gonski back on track
The Gonski Report on School Funding was published 10 years ago this month. It promised much to increase equity in education. However, its promise was undermined by fundamental flaws in Labor’s new model and trashed by Coalition governments. Continue reading »
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New funding figures pressure Labor to offer fair deal to public schools
Unless there is a dramatic change in school funding policies the vast inequity in school outcomes will continue for the rest of the decade. Continue reading »
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Greed or need? Privileged schools top the class in avarice
Highly profitable private schools raked in millions from JobKeeper, underlining the deep flaws and inequality in Australia’s school funding system. Continue reading »
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Don’t mind if we do: Victorian private schools deep in JobKeeper trough
A scheme designed to save Australia from long unemployment queues has been a gravy train for the private schools serving the most advantaged families. Continue reading »
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In education we are now measuring motivation rather than learning
The international education juggernaut is under scrutiny for reliability as figures show some students make scant effort — and there are implications for NAPLAN. Continue reading »
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Nobel Prize reveals how much money matters in education — and carries a lesson for Australia
Research by a Nobel Prize for Economics winner shows the impact of education funding on the future success of students is greater than previously believed. Continue reading »
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Wealthy schools pocket millions in JobKeeper funds despite profits
Blessed are the rich! The payments to elite schools despite their healthy bottom lines and vast assets highlight the pressing need for education funding reform. Continue reading »
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Private schools brawl to get their snouts deeper in the funding trough
A coalition of Independent schools complained (on the ABC 7.30 Report) that they are disadvantaged by the Morrison Government’s new funding model because their funding increase is not as big as others. They want yet another special deal from the Morrison Government as do many other Independent schools. Continue reading »
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Education department refuses to hold private schools accountable for taxpayer funding
Yet another damning report by the Auditor-General shows that the Commonwealth Department of Education continues to fail to fully hold private school systems accountable for how they distribute taxpayer funding. It also criticises the Minister for Education and the Department for failing to meet their parliamentary reporting obligations. Continue reading »
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Tudge fudges school results and funding
The Minister for Education, Alan Tudge, was fudging figures to denigrate Australia’s school performance at the The Age education summit last week. He claimed the UK as the new benchmark for education performance, but ignored serious flaws in the reporting of its results. He also fudged data on school funding and student results in Australia. Continue reading »
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Numbers don’t lie: Public schools underfunded by $60bn; private overfunded by $6bn
The Morrison Government has abandoned all pretence at funding private schools according to need and has washed its hands of ensuring that public schools are fully funded. Continue reading »
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Beware false idols of education excellence: take PISA test results with a grain of salt
Research shows that a large majority of students do not fully try on low-stakes tests such as PISA. There is little incentive for students to perform because there are no personal consequences. This could help explain the stark contradiction between Australia’s falling PISA results and its improving Year 12 results. Continue reading »
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Morrison’s private school funding model ignores the Bank of Mum and Dad
Private schools will receive $130 billion from the Federal Government over the next eight years. It constitutes massive over-funding by taxpayers because the Government’s funding model ignores a major source of family income used to assess the financial need of private schools. Continue reading »
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Public schools are as good as private schools
The widely held myth that private schools deliver better results than public schools has taken another blow. A new study of NAPLAN results shows that public schools do as well as private schools despite the large resource advantage of private schools. Continue reading »
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To those that have more will be given: Education resource gaps in Australia
New evidence shows that education resource gaps between disadvantaged and advantaged schools in Australia are among the largest in the OECD and the world. This is a shameful record for a country that regards itself as egalitarian. Continue reading »
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Private school funding model is deeply flawed
The Morrison Government’s funding model for private schools introduced earlier this year is littered with flaws and will result in massive over-funding of schools. It should be replaced by a new approach. Continue reading »
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New expose of Catholic Church’s rorting of taxpayer funding
Documents leaked to the ABC expose shocking rorting of taxpayer funding by the NSW Catholic school system with the approval of  Catholic bishops. It is the latest in a long line of exposes about misuse of government funding by Catholic systems and which successive Coalition and Labor governments have meekly acquiesced to. Continue reading »
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The Bureaucratisation of Public Education in Australia
Public school systems in Australia have seen an enormous increase in bureaucracy since the turn of the century. So-called school reforms promised less bureaucratic control but have instead intensified bureaucracy at all levels – central and regional offices, schools and for teachers. Continue reading »
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Catholic School Systems Required to be More Transparent About How They Use Taxpayer Funds
Catholic school systems have been diverting taxpayer funding for schools in poor areas to schools in wealthy inner suburbs for years. Many official and other reports have documented this unethical and unchristian practice. It may at last be about to change. Continue reading »
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Public Schools Face a Funding Crisis While Private Schools Are in Clover
Government funding increases continue to massively favour private schools over public schools according to new figures published by the Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority (ACARA). Continue reading »
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Turnbull Exposes Rorting of School Funding by Catholic Church
In his recently published memoirs, Malcolm Turnbull thoroughly exposes the hypocrisy of Catholic education authorities in diverting taxpayer funding intended for poor schools to subsidise rich inner-city schools. In doing so, he exposed his own hypocrisy by allowing them to continue to do so under his Gonski 2.0 funding model. Continue reading »
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New Figures Show Huge Funding Increases for Private Schools & Cuts to Public Schools
New figures show that government (Commonwealth and State) funding increases massively favoured private schools over public schools between 2009-10 and 2017-18. Continue reading »
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Disadvantaged Schools in Australia Are Far Less Resourced than Advantaged Schools
Data from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018 show that Australia allocates more and better quality teacher and physical resources to high socio-economic status (SES) secondary schools than to low SES schools. The gaps are amongst the largest in the OECD. The highest performing OECD countries generally allocate resources more equitably Continue reading »
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OECD Says 3 in 4 Australian Students Do Not Try on PISA Tests
The hand-wringing over the continuing decline in Australia’s PISA results misses the issue of whether students try their best on the tests. The OECD’s report on PISA 2018 shows that about three in four Australian students and two-thirds of students in OECD countries did not try their hardest on the tests. There are also wide Continue reading »
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Skulduggery by the Morrison & Andrews Governments Robs Victorian Public Schools of Billions
Skulduggery between the Morrison and Victorian Labor Government will defraud Victorian public schools of about $17 billion over ten years to 2028. The new funding agreement between the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments signed last month will mean that public schools will be under-funded indefinitely while private schools are fully funded or more by 2023 at Continue reading »
