Tasmanian Labor welcomes any additional funding for Tasmanian public schools, but serious questions remain about whether the new school funding agreement is the best deal Tasmania could have secured.

The Tasmanian AEU President David Genford called the announcement a “kick in the teeth” and “very disappointing”, with funding being increased more slowly, the deal locked in for ten years, and an accounting loophole meaning 100% funding will never reach schools during the life of the agreement.

While some funding to Tasmanian public schools will increase, Education Minister Jo Palmer’s comments at a Budget Estimates hearing on Monday raise questions as to how the agreement was reached and whether it is the best deal for Tasmanian students.

Minister Palmer told the hearing “We firmly believe that we must see 100 per cent funding in our government schools and that the federal government should be providing that full 5 per cent, not 2.5 per cent, so we are standing with the other states and territories.”

What changed between Monday and Wednesday?

And what will the deal mean for the state budget handed down earlier this month? How will Tasmania's share be funded? Will there be further cuts and efficiency dividends?

Given Tasmania’s precarious financial position, how many programs or projects in the 2024-25 budget are at risk because the government failed to secure a 5 per cent increase from the Commonwealth Government?

Sarah Lovell MLC
Shadow Minister for Education & Early Years