Tom is an old friend of the Vintage Reds and we were delighted to hear him speak on his recent book (published last month) which he has co-authored with Chris Bonnor, Waiting for Gonski: How Australia Failed its Schools. (photo courtesy of Canberra Writers Festival)
Tom can be found online, remembering his feelings ten years ago: he was “caught up in the hope and optimism” of the Gonski review.
Here we must confess with regret that notes from this Vintage Reds meeting have not survived. In their absence, here are two reviews of this excellent book:
“There was plenty of excitement across the political divide when the Gonski review into educational funding was released in February 2012.
Led by businessman David Gonski, and commissioned by the then-Gillard Government, the review was designed to reform school funding and lift outcomes for less privileged students through a new needs-based funding model.
It contained 41 recommendations, including an increase of $5 billion per year to schools funding with one third of it to come from the Commonwealth, and a fairer funding framework, including a “per student” funding standard.
Ten years on, some are saying the Gonski review has failed and that, since it was commissioned, educational outcomes have gone backwards.
Anna Kelsey-Sugg, “The Gonski review promised fairer schools funding.
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A decade on, these experts say it hasn’t been delivered“,
ABC News online, 28 Feb. 2022
