School programmes facing savage cuts in MYEFO

The extraordinary hypocrisy of the federal Labor Government has been exposed as the midyear fiscal outlook shows sweeping cuts and dodgy delays to Labor’s key education programmes.

“Labor intends to slash or shift almost half a billion from the Trades Training Centre programme, the Teacher Quality Partnership and Teach Next which is part of $2.4 billion in cuts from education and skills,” said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne.

“The Gillard Government’s practice of shifting large slabs of funding from one year to the next to bolster their budget bottom line adds to the uncertainty for the schools sector and state governments,” Mr Pyne said.

“These cuts and delays come just weeks after Labor Ministers were attacking state government education cuts. It is breathtaking hypocrisy. 

• National Partnership for Teacher Quality - delay of $175 million that would have gone to the States next year will be delayed to the following year. (Pg 52)
• Trade Training Centres - cut of $304 million as the programme is further delayed. (Pg 221)
• Teach Next - cut of $1.4 million. (Pg 220)
• Computers in Schools - cut of $600 million in 2012 Federal Budget.

“On one hand Labor talks about increasing education spending, on the other hand they rip half a billion dollars away from schools,” Mr Pyne said.

“These cuts are further evidence that this Government cannot be trusted. Labor has a $120 billion black hole to fill, so Australians can expect even more cuts and higher taxes,” he said.

 October 22, 2012