MONDAY 31 MARCH 2025 MEDIA RELEASE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUST COME FIRST
Kate Hook, community independent candidate for Calare, has identified the erosive behaviour of the two-party system when it comes to public education, and she is demanding equity for the public-school system especially in regional and rural areas.
“Public schools can be places of excellence and opportunity educating the majority of students of all abilities, including those with disabilities, learning challenges and complex needs. Public schools have a higher proportion of students with special needs, and are essential to regional communities, yet they have been underfunded for too long,” Kate Hook said.
Over time Australian governments have off-loaded their responsibilities to the people of Australia with the privatisation of finance, telecommunications and infrastructure. Kate will not stand by and watch this occur to the education sector.
“Private schools that charge tens of thousands of dollars in fees continue to receive government subsidies on top of their private funding while public schools are on their knees. This shifts the responsibility of providing quality education from public schools to the private sector. Both parties are guilty of this, and I will not let it continue to be ignored.”
Kate believes public funding must be directed where it is needed most:
- Every public school should receive 100% of its required funding as soon as possible, not in 2034.
- No public school should have to cut essential programs while private schools expand their facilities with public money. Kate would support a review into the equity of federal government education funding mechanisms.
- Families in regional areas should have strong, well-funded local schools, reducing the need to send children away to boarding school.
"We want and expect all students to receive a quality education regardless of which part of our regional cities, rural towns or remote locations we live. It is in no-one's best interest if the quality of a primary or secondary education is determined by the postcode of our home. Federal government funding that takes into account the complexity of student needs and the existing capacity of communities to fundraise, with a focus on public schools accessible to all, is the way that we achieve this aim."
Kate respects every family's right to choose but says choice should not come at the expense of fairness.