THURSDAY 27 MARCH 2025 MEDIA RELEASE KATE HOOK: PUBLIC SCHOOLS DESERVE MORE THAN THE BARE MINIMUM
Kate Hook, independent candidate for Calare, has welcomed the recent commitments from both major parties to fully fund public schools to 100% of the School Resourcing Standard (SRS)—but believes this is only a first step toward fixing the deep inequalities in Australia’s education system and that delivery by 2034 is not soon enough, when public schools across Calare are struggling now.
“This is a step in the right direction,” Kate said, “but public schools are struggling today. We must deliver 100% funding as soon as possible—not leave students waiting another ten years for the education they deserve.”
The SRS is not a gold standard—it is the bare minimum required to provide students with basic literacy and numeracy skills. It does not cover the other vital aspects of education such as the humanities, arts and physical education, which help shape well-rounded individuals. It also does not account for the cost of meeting complex student needs, such as teacher training in trauma-informed practice, speech and occupational therapy programs and additional school counsellors.
Low-fee faith-based schools, including Catholic system schools, should continue to receive federal funding so they can meet student needs without high fees. The inequity that needs to be addressed is in federal funding flowing to high-fee schools with less student complexity and whose communities have a greater capacity to fund-raise.
While many high-fee private schools receiving government support continue to expand luxury facilities, public schools are still going without essential resources like school halls, modern toilet facilities, proper air conditioning, specialist teachers and learning support staff.
The reason that public schools need to be the focus is that they include all students, regardless of wealth, ability, location and religious faith and should therefore be the bedrock of a well-educated, functioning society.
Both the Labor party and Coalition have committed to the funding level but not until 2034, each with their own slight twist on the promise.
“This is classic behaviour of the major parties, to promise something that they know they won’t deliver for years but can blame the opposition for not following through if there’s a change of government in the meantime. The lack of collaboration and agreement to provide both immediate benefits and a long-term strategy is why the two-party system is broken. Politics needs to put people before parties and move away from short-term thinking and game playing. We need collaboration across the parliament to create policy for the benefit of the Australian people. Independents can drive that. I can do that.”