No hearings into education bill

After gagging debate on the Australian Education Bill in the House of Representatives after less than two hours, Labor has given a Senate Inquiry into the Bill just three days and refused to allow time for hearings, said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne. “Labor is rushing the changes through the Parliament without proper consideration of the impact on schools, families and school fees,” Mr Pyne said. “The Bill has 71 pages of amendments containing sweeping new powers for the Federal Government to interfere in the operation of both government and non-government schools and projected Federal Budgetary cuts of $325 million over the next four years,” he said. “If this new model is so good, what does the Government have to hide from the proper scrutiny of the Parliament? “This is no way to run a government or run a country. We have already seen Labor’s figures include money going to a school that closed months ago. “How many other blunders are hidden in the figures and the legislation that won’t be discovered until they are too late to fix? “Schools looking at projections of what they might receive in additional funding by 2019 are still completely in the dark over what funding they will receive next year and the year after. “The Gillard Government should release the year by year figures for the next three years where Commonwealth education funding actually goes backwards in every state and territory,” Mr Pyne said. June 19, 2013