State Education Minister Adrian Piccoli provided ammunition for Labor’s federal election campaign during a visit to Bangor Public School.
Mr Piccoli said better results had been achieved in literacy and numeracy by students in Years 3 and 5 following extra needs-based funding provided by the Gonski reforms.
The NSW Education Minister has been forthright in his calls for the federal government to commit to fully fund the Gonski reforms rollout.
He expressed disappointment when this did not occur in this year’s budget, and said he would keep pushing the federal government.
Federal Labor has promised an extra $4.5 billion to fully fund the Gonski rollout, while the Coalition has also promised more funding for schools, but says Labor’s promise is unaffordable.
Mr Piccoli said Bangor Public School received $370,000 in additional needs-based funding in 2014-16 as a result of NSW signing up to the Gonski agreement.
“The funding has been used to develop and prepare individual learning plans and to meet with parents to discuss student goals,” he said.
“The school is also working with Aboriginal elders to support students in school.”
Mr Piccoli said extra funding had also been used to engage a school learning support officer “to support students requiring academic, behaviour and emotional wellbeing assistance.”
In another federal election fillip for Labor, the sitting Liberal member for Hughes, Craig Kelly, was embarrassed when it was revealed he had handed out flyers stating his wish to "contribute to a Coalition government under Tony Abbott".
Mr Kelly, who was one of the former Prime Minister’s closest supporters distributed the flyers at Sutherland railway station on May 20.
Mr Kelly said it was “an innocent oversight”, and his team was receiving a great response at railway stations.
“People can see the humorous side,” he said. “They're more interested to know where my Labor opponent has been.”
Labor candidate Diedree Steinwall, who had been with a Sutherland Shire Council delegation on a “sister city” visit to Japan, said the flyer highlighted Mr Kelly’s close ties to Mr Abbott and his “policies of the past”.