Parents and students pay too much for tax cuts
4 May 2004
Parents, teachers and universities will pay dearly for tax cuts, reveals Services First – a new alliance of doctors, teachers and community organisations. At a media conference in the marginal federal electorate of Parramatta, parents and teachers called on political parties to allocate Budget funds to public education rather than tax cuts.
“Many kids are missing out on essential services like preschool education. Public schools are under pressure and debts for tertiary students are skyrocketing. A tax cut, rather than spending on education will rob Australia’s young people of vital opportunities,” Services First spokesperson Andrew McCallum said.
The gaps in education funding as outlined by Services First today include:
- Around 25% (400,000) pre-school age children do not participate in a pre-school program.
- Public schools receive only 1/3rd of Commonwealth funding to educate two thirds of the nation’s students.
- Between 1996 and 2001, before the biggest Federal increase in funds for private schools, expenditure on private schools increased by 45%, but only by 27% for government schools.
- International comparisons show that that the fees paid by students at public universities are currently exceeded only by those in Korea and Hong Kong.
- The contribution of an average student to the cost of university education rose from approximately 20% in 1996 to more than 50% in 2005.
“Polling indicates most voters want the government to spend on health and education rather than a tax cut.” (See www.servicesfirst.org.au for latest survey details.)
“It would be uneconomical and unfair not to invest the Budget surplus in educating the next generation of Australians. Better education funds now will not only benefit students it will be an investment for the nation and the economy,” Services First spokesperson Andrew McCallum said.
Speakers available for interview:
Andrew McCallum, ACOSS. Ph: 0419 626 155.
David Giblin, Australian Council of State School Organisations. Ph: 0402 918 799.
Angelo Gavrielatos, Australian Education Union, Ph: 0418 423 531.
Cathy Rytmeister, National Tertiary Education Union, Ph: 0438 683 867.