State Premier Gladys Berejiklian has praised the Turnbull Government's decision to fund Gonski 2.0 but says it had better be fair.
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| Scot MacDonald |
Announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday, Gonski 2.0 will divert funding from 24 of the nation's wealthiest schools to help fund 9400 other schools across the nation.
The Premier's calls have been echoed by Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald, who considers the changes to be fair.
"Personally, I don't think that is a bad system. I do hear what the Catholic school system is saying that they have some fears; [Education Minister] Simon Birmingham has put out some re-assurances," he said
"Each school will be looking at the detail in the near future.
"As the biggest state, with the most number of school students - about a third of the school population - NSW will be looking at this very closely."
The debate surrounding Gonski funding has been ongoing since the Gillard Government, which commissioned David Gonski to investigate needs-based funding.
The Coalition has been adamant that money does not make schools better, with Mr Turnbull's announcement marking a stunning backflip on policy.
Mr MacDonald identified four schools in the Hunter with large maintenance backlogs, suggesting some are almost $2 million.
He says it's now time to stop arguing and come to an agreement.
"We've now got serious money on the table from the federal government'" he said.
"I very much hope and expect that NSW will get the funding it was originally promised."
