Strictly embargoed until 1am, Monday 13 May 2002

"There is much speculation that ordinary Australians will be asked to shoulder a large part of the burden of the budgetary difficulties the Coalition is facing. If that is the case it would be obscene if the Howard government does not ask the rich private schools to also share some part of that burden by reducing the windfall funding increases they have received in recent years.

Already the invaluable National Asian Languages and Studies for Australian Students [NALSAS] program has been axed in order to provide savings of $30 million which will be passed on directly to the exclusive private schools. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australian students will suffer as a result of this cutback.

On existing forward estimates, private schools will be receiving from Tuesday's Budget an additional $281 million on top of the $3.605 billion the Federal government already devotes to them annually. 70% of all Federal government money spent on schools now goes to exclusive private education.

Billions of dollars of taxpayer money have been redirected to elite private schools worsening the current pressures on the Budget. If pensioners, welfare recipients and other battling Australians are to be targeted for cutbacks in their entitlements it would only be reasonable if the funding increases to rich schools were to be moderated.

If the proposed funding increases to the wealthy schools are passed on in full then the government will be directly transferring funds away from the entitlements of ordinary Australians to privileged communities in private education. This will be Robin Hood in Reverse. Robbing the poor to pay the Rich."