GREENS candidate for Lyne, Ian Oxenford, has entered the fray over the Gonski education reforms.
“The Greens support the reforms and we’re not alone. The State Minister for Education and the Australian Education Union also support it,” he said.
“It would seem the only people against this important reform are Tony Abbott and (Nationals candidate for Lyne) David Gillespie.
“I am astounded that Mr Gillespie would speak against these reforms, especially given the Coalition State Government has assessed the benefits for this state and gone ahead and signed on.”
“There is no doubt that school kids in regional and rural settings will be the greatest beneficiaries of these reforms, as well as indigenous students, and those of lower socio-economic backgrounds.
“It has been firmly established that the best societies to live in are those with the lowest inequality, and the best access to education.”
Mr Oxenford praised Premier Barry O’Farrell for his leadership on the issue.
“We can only hope the other premiers will swiftly follow to move towards a world-class education system for Australia. And I’m sure our state member Leslie Williams, who we know has the interest of education at heart, will support her Premier.”
“It is indeed a sad state of affairs when the federal and state levels of one party cannot agree on such an important issue.
“The bottom line is that if we want to be a clever country, we need to start by being a caring country.
“That means putting politics aside and addressing the inequality in our schools.”
