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Gonski: Turnbull gets his deal with Senate crossbench on schools funding

The government's Gonski 2.0 plan is the second overhaul of school funding in four years.

The government's Gonski 2.0 plan is the second overhaul of school funding in four years. Photo: AAP

Australia’s schools funding model will be overhauled for the second time in four years after the Turnbull government’s Gonski 2.0 education package won the support of the Senate crossbench.

After days of tense negotiations, Education Minister Simon Birmingham won the votes needed to pass the controversial legislation despite a fierce campaign from Labor, public education unions and the Catholic sector.

The Nick Xenophon Team, One Nation and independents Derryn Hinch, Jacqui Lambie and Lucy Gichuhi agreed to support the government after Senator Birmingham added an extra $4.9 billion to the $18.6 billion funding boost.

That extra money will mean underfunded schools will reach their Gonski funding level in six years rather than 10.

The crossbenchers said they had also won a National Schools Resourcing Board and a mechanism to ensure state and territory governments also met their commitments.

It is understood the government has also offered transitional funding arrangements for the Catholic and independent sectors.

The legislation was expected to pass the Senate on Thursday.

The surprise deal sidelined the Greens, who had held out support for the package in the hope of also extracting extra funding for disabled students.

The party had failed to come to a final position on the legislation amid internal divisions and electoral threats from the Australian Education Union, which says the package is cut to schools funding.

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Education Minister Simon Birmingham struck a deal with the Senate crossbench. Photo: AAP

The National Catholic Education Commission, which has been in Canberra lobbying the crossbench during the final sitting week until the winter break, urged the government to abandon the package.

“Concessions – real or imagined – won’t fix the problems with this rushed legislation,” executive director Christian Zahra said.

It came despite reports the government was willing to give the Catholic sector a 12-month reprieve and a review of the Student Resourcing Standard, which the Greens labelled a “special deal”.

The Australian Education Union warned the Senate crossbench they would have to answer to their electorates if they supported the package.

“We will intensify our campaigning from now until the next election to get that commitment from all political parties and to hold the elected representatives of this nation to account for their decision,” AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said.

The union’s ‘I Give A Gonski’ campaign rallied against the government on education funding since former Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped the Gillard government’s 2013 schools funding deals.

Earlier on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten blasted the changes as “hated” by schools and parents.

“It’s not Labor who is inventing criticism of Mr Turnbull’s cuts to schools,” he said.

“This is the first time in 50 years we’ve seen the Catholic education system so moved to defend parents and kids in their schools, that they’ve taken to advertising and telephone calls.”

The opposition says the package represents a $22 billion cut compared to the Gillard government’s funding deals with states, territories and school sectors.

The government has touted the support of businessman David Gonski, who led the Gillard government’s initial schools funding review.

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