Labor has accused Tasmanian Education Minister Jo Palmer of diverting $1.6 million in federal schools funding to bankroll a controversial reorganisation of schools.
Labor leader Josh Willie said the government had confirmed during budget estimates that $600,000 from the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement was spent in 2025, with another $500,000 set aside for both 2026 and 2027.
The funding is meant to deliver needs-based support to Tasmanian students under the Gonski principles of educational equity.
Willie said the money was instead being spent on the government’s Multi School Organisation trial, including executive salaries and interstate consultancies.
“Minister Palmer is paying for interstate consultants and CEOs out of money that should be going through the school gate,” he said.
The government has created senior roles for the trial, including a chief executive paid more than $200,000 and a head of operations on more than $150,000.
Willie said that amounted to more than $350,000 for two executives sitting above three existing school principals.
“I’m a former teacher, I can tell her for free that it’s a bad idea,” he said.
“When you don’t have buy-in from teachers and support staff, it’s not going to work.”
Palmer announced on Friday that Youngtown Primary School, Ravenswood Heights Primary School and St Leonards Primary School would form the second MSO in the state’s north.
New Town Primary, Moonah Primary and Risdon Vale Primary formed the first earlier this year, with Hobart City High School set to join next year.
Palmer said the model was inspired by a study tour to the United Kingdom with the McKinnon Foundation and the Grattan Institute, where a similar program had been running for 20 years.
“We wanna be a state where regardless of your postcode, you are guaranteed that your child will have an extraordinary education,” Palmer said on Friday.
Youngtown Primary principal Sam Woodham said the program was “a really exciting opportunity for our schools to be able to come together and bring our teachers, our leaders and our teacher assistants together to engage in some really purposeful collaboration.”
Ravenswood Heights principal Jason Gunn said he was excited about the chance to mentor and upskill teachers “so that we ultimately can improve the educational outcomes for all of our students, regardless of postcode.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff rejected Labor’s criticism today, saying the MSO model was being embraced by schools.
“These resources are being applied to exactly where they need to be applied,” Rockliff said.
Willie pointed to surveys showing widespread concern among teachers and principals about the model, saying the Australian Education Union had reported most principals across the state were rejecting it.
He said the government should instead focus on lifting early learning participation rates.
“It’s no coincidence that we have the worst participation rates in early years education and some of the worst education results in the country,” he said.
