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Lies, a witches brew and con-ski
It was a tough slog for the government to get Gonski 2.0 through the Senate, negotiating with the crossbench senators who have been very animated in their thoughts on the funding plan.
An extra $24 billion is set to flow into the nation's schools over the next decade under a landmark deal struck between the Turnbull government and the Senate crossbench on the "Gonski 2.0" school funding changes.
The government was on the verge of a hard-fought victory on Wednesday night after agreeing to pump $5 billion more into schools, fast-track its spending plan and give Catholic schools a 12-month reprieve before removing their prized system-based funding arrangements.
Despite ferocious opposition from Labor, the Catholic school sector and public sector teacher unions, 10 members of the 12-person Senate crossbench announced their intention to support the government's new funding model on Wednesday.
The crossbench deal cut out the Greens, who achieved all their key negotiating demands but were too paralysed by internal division to seal a deal with the government.
The Senate was set to sit until late on Wednesday night to debate school funding, and a final vote may not be taken until Thursday.
The government was confident of success but alive to the possibility it could be cruelled by a last-minute defection from the crossbench or one of its own senators.
![The government has sealed a deal on school funding thanks in part to the support of the Nick Xenophon Team.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170621133839im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/b/a/a/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwvgs0.png/1498045471206.jpg)
Funding for 24 elite private schools would be slashed under the new model and schools around the country would be moved to more consistent funding levels.
The final two years of Labor's 2013 funding deals with the states would also be torn up, leading the opposition to claim the government was cutting funding by $22 billion over a decade.
![Senator Derryn Hinch said he was proud to support the changes.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170621133839im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/g/8/y/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwvgs0.png/1498045471206.jpg)
In the lead-up to the vote, Gonski review panel members Ken Boston and Kathryn Greiner said it would be a "tragedy" and a "disaster" if the current funding system was allowed to remain in place.
Furious at the prospect of the new funding model becoming law, the National Catholic Education Commission and the Australian Education Union vowed to campaign until the next election against the government and any senators who supported its changes.
![National Catholic Education Commission executive director Christian Zahra said the government had failed to consult with ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170621133839im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/6/v/9/q/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwvgs0.png/1498045471206.jpg)
As well as the four One Nation and three Nick Xenophon Team senators, independent senators Derryn Hinch, Jacqui Lambie and Lucy Gichuhi all announced they would vote with the government.
The government agreed to major concessions to win support for its package, including moving schools to their target funding levels within six years instead of a decade.
The speedier timeline adds $4.9 billion to the $18.6 billion in extra spending over a decade the government had already announced.
It is estimated that $3.3 billion of the new spending secured by the crossbench will flow to public schools.
The government will also introduce new rules forcing state governments to increase their school spending and will create an independent schools resourcing body as recommended by the Gonski report.
It has also agreed to one-year transition arrangements, costing $50 million, for the Catholic sector and other independent school systems and a review of the socio-economic status formula underlying the funding model.
This concession, which the Greens described as a new "special deal", was aimed at securing the vote of Liberal senator Chris Back, who had threatened to cross the floor.
Senator Xenophon said the crossbench had delivered the "real Gonski" rather than the "knock-off" version implemented by Labor in 2013.
"This is the real Gonski because we have David Gonski, we have his panel members, saying unambiguously it would be a disaster for Australian education if this package wasn't passed," Senator Xenophon said.
Senator Hinch said he was proud to vote for the changes.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the Coalition had "rescued" the Gonski report's recommendations after Labor botched the opportunity in 2013.
Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek urged the Senate not to pass a funding model that "parents hate, that teachers hate, that will be terrible for Australia's children".
"This is not needs-based, it's not sector-blind, it is not fair," Ms Plibersek said.
She said it was absurd that disadvantaged schoolchildren in Tasmania and the Northern Territory were getting the worst deal under the new model.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said: "Labor cannot in good conscience support a $22 billion cut to school funding."
National Catholic Education Commission executive director Christian Zahra said the government had failed to consult with the sector and urged it to withdraw the bill.
"Concessions – real or imagined – won't fix the problems with this rushed legislation," he said.
Australian Education Union president Correna Haythorpe said: "This has been a shambolic process from the Turnbull government; they have rushed this through without proper negotiations with state governments and schooling sectors."
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