LEON COMPTON: Tuning in to Kim Napier on Northern Breakfast this morning. She had the Prime Minister in the studio and I was interested…. My ears pricked up when he talked about an announcement today about a deal with the State for more Federal money to go into our public school system.

[PRE-RECORDED] ANTHONY ALBANESE: We have reached an agreement, the third state or territory to, for full schools funding, according with the Gonski principles of bringing every public school in Tasmania up to full and fair funding.

That will also include the agreement for better schools around curriculum and around the way the education is delivered in this state as well as part of that agreement.

LEON: That was Anthony Albanese talking to Kim Napier on Northern Breakfast this morning. David Genford is the Australian Education Union’s Tasmanian branch President and experienced teacher in his own right. David Genford, good morning to you.

DAVID GENFORD: Morning, Leon, how are you?

LEON: I’m well thank you. So an announcement expected today with Jason Clare, the Education Minister and the Prime Minister for, quote, “full schools funding.” We’re told it will roll out over a decade. What does that actually mean potentially for the state school system here?

DAVID: The reality is it’s it’s a kick in the teeth, Leon, it’s it’s a very disappointing announcement to make this morning because whilst increasing the funding, it’s not actually getting to the 100% that Gonski identified due to the fact that the Morrison-Turnbull Government put in their 4% loopholes that’s not being removed. So I struggle to stand by and listen to the Prime Minister say we’re getting to full funding, we’re not going to be, we’re only getting halfway there. And when I heard you mention that it’s not going to happen for a decade, so this is… when is the money actually going to get into our schools? There was nothing in the Budget. If this is another case of politicians announcing something that’s going to happen 5-6 years down the track, we saw it happen with the Gillard Government that the Gonski money never reached us.

We’re still fighting for this ten years later. That’s how long it’s taken and the money isn’t there. So it’s a pretty disappointing announcement from the the Prime Minister today.

LEON: It’s really interesting to hear your take on it. The Prime Minister doesn’t talk about funding the ‘Gonski Model’, he talks about funding education in the state according to the ‘Gonski principles.’ Is that an important distinction to make, David? Are talking about potentially two very different outcomes for students?

DAVID: Absolutely. Words are very valuable for politicians when what they say and what they’ll actually deliver are two different things. It’s just heartbreaking. Like, we’ve had a generation of students not be funded 100%. And a lot of people don’t understand percentages.

Let’s be clear. The Gonski Model identified that the funding required just to get 4 out of 5 students to the minimum standard. This is not a magic fix. This is just to get 80% of our kids to the minimum standard. So this was not a pie in the sky ask for the Federal Government to contribute 5% of the funding to put the states in a position where they could remove the 4% loophole.

This is what our kids need as a minimum, just for 80% to reach the minimum standard. So for the Prime Minister to come down, to actually make the effort to come down to Tasmania to make this announcement, is a real kick in the guts for all public educators out there to say, “not only are we not going to get you 100%, we’re going to kick it down the road,” where more than likely it could be taken away from us by a future government, which we’ve seen before.

LEON: Okay, so David, again, people will be leaning into the radio right now with their kid in the state system, in primary or high school in Tasmania, and I’m one of them, and thinking…. hang on, won’t this involve more money for state schools from the feds?

DAVID: Yes it will. So if let’s say, for example, the announcement was, “we’re going to increase by 2.5% each and the money is going to be delivered at the start of the school year next year,” that would mean what they’re promising would be approximately $1,000 per student will be put into school coffers. So, multiply your school by how many students there are, time that by a thousand.

My concern is that when we start hearing about the fact the deal’s been done over the decade, it means that the money won’t actually reach schools until, often, the students that you’re talking about Leon have left school. When Julia Gillard announced this, we were told we’d get to full funding by… I think it was 2019.

So those kids have long since left school, the kids now that are in school are not going to get the funding automatically. There was nothing in the budget. The Minister was asked on Monday about it and she said she was “staying firm,” and “standing up to the Federal Government,” because she realised on Monday that it was the wrong thing to do to sign up to this agreement.

It’s now happened. We still see the other states, the big states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland) are not signing up to this agreement because they want to see the Federal Government increase by 5%, and then we can start working with the State Government and how do we actually remove the 4% loophole? In fact, it could be part of the deal that that’s the thing that slowly gets taken away over time.

But if we’re not seeing this thousand dollars per head being put into schools next year, it’s just a further “wait, wait, wait,” that our school staff and, really, the parents of students such as yourself, should be angry that your children are not going to see this money. It’s going to be in the 2030s until we do.

LEON: ABC Mornings around Tasmania. David Genford is my guest this morning, Tasmanian branch President of the Education Union. The Prime Minister and the Education Minister intend today to make announcements on school funding in this state. Can I ask you about one other point that he made: that the money would also come with promises around changes potentially to curriculum? Is that ‘what is taught’ is it ‘how is how things are taught’ What does it mean?

DAVID: I think when I’ve had conversations with Jason Clare previously for the Federal Government to increase funding they want to be pretty prescriptive than has been previously done, where the schools get the money and choose how they spend it. So, I feel as though there’ll be some, targeted interventions that the Federal Government feels need to happen.

So stuff like that. We’re prepared to work with the Government. Let’s have a look. And actually, instead of politicians telling me they want to see evidence-based things put in place, let’s actually look at the research and the evidence and stop using it as fancy terminology, that we’re starting to see in the news. Let’s actually understand what the research says is required.

But it’s hard when one of the main researchers was David Gonski! And we’re not actually going to meet what he said. So, happy to work with the Federal Government to see what that would look like. But if we’re not going to see the money until the next generation of kids come through, it’s just so disappointing.

LEON: Appreciate you sharing your perspective this morning.

DAVID: Thanks Leon.