Thousands of public schools displayed outside Parliament in fight against funding cuts
Thousands of schools were planted in the lawns outside Parliament House in Canberra on Budget day as part of the Fair Funding Now! campaign.
These individual schools visually demonstrated the impact of Scott Morrison’s public school funding cuts. Each school in the display signified a real public school in the community and the extra funding that schools will receive under Labor’s commitment for an extra $3.3 billion in public school funding in the first three years of a Shorten Labor government.
Nine Fair Funding Now! vans and dozens of volunteers were part of the event, creating a spectacular experience which was widely covered by national television and print media outlets. The Fair Funding Now campaign also launched a national advertising campaign on the day across television, radio, print, online and billboards to remind voters of Scott Morrison’s cuts to public school funding.
Labor’s Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek, and the Greens’ Richard Di Natale visited the display. Caucus members from both parties, as well as independent MP Keryn Phelps also attended the event. Mr Shorten and Ms Plibersek spoke about the importance of reversing the Morrison Government’s $14 billion public school funding cuts. Labor’s commitment of an additional $3.3 billion in public school funding in the first three years if elected would provide for smaller class sizes, more one-on-one support and more help for students with disability.
In the lead up to the event, we travelled across the country talking to teachers and parents about what they want for their children and their schools. The message is clear. They want a government prepared to invest in their children and in public schools.
The failure of the Morrison Government to restore the $14 billion of cuts to public schools in the 2019 Federal Budget, along with their $4.6 billion special deal for private schools shows that the Prime Minister has turned his back on public schools and their students
It is time for a change of government, one that is serious about investing in public schools.
