Education

The same number of senators voted for and against the motion, which means it failed. It was introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens).

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) seventy-six percent of school enrolment growth in the 5 years to 2018 was in public schools,

(ii) across Australia, public schools have the greatest need for infrastructure such as classrooms, libraries, science labs or sporting facilities,

(iii) the Federal Government has a dedicated Capital Grants Program, which is only available to non-government schools,

(iv) the only access public schools have to federal infrastructure funding is the Local Schools Community Fund, which consists of a one-off allocation of $200,000 to each electorate, which will be shared with private schools and will fall well short of the needs of public schools, and

(v) public school students deserve world-class facilities; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to establish a capital works fund dedicated to public schools.