This morning Malcolm Turnbull clearly laid out his priorities – and strengthening Australia’s public education system isn’t one of them.

The Liberals have already walked away from the Gonski school funding reform, costing Newcastle schools more than $150 million over the next decade.

Now in a shocking move for schools and students, Malcolm Turnbull has casually announced he wants to dump all Federal involvement in public education.

In a radio interview this morning Malcolm Turnbull announced his plan to transfer responsibility of public education to the states, but said the Federal Government had an obligation to continue to fund non-Government schools because he was worried they wouldn’t get a “fair go”:

“No Coalition Federal Government, I suspect no Federal Government, would retreat from funding or continuing to support the non-Government school sector because there would be a concern that they would not get a fair go from state governments.”

[MALCOLM TURNBULL, 31 MARCH 2016]

Removing all Federal Government involvement from public schooling would have further devastating effects on closing the equity gap in our schools.

The right of every Australian child to access a quality education regardless of background or circumstance in the cornerstone of our social and democratic traditions. The Federal Government should be working to advance this, not drag it backwards.

Labor’s Your Child, Our Future plan will reverse the Government’s cuts to education and finish the six-year school funding agreements, ensuring that every child in every school has the targeted support they need to achieve their best.

Only Labor is committed to investing in education and to improving our schools.

Only Labor will deliver the support and resources our students need to prepare them for the future.