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30-July-2010
Education Minister Simon Crean has run up the white flag on the management of the BER ‘school hall’ fund, conceding the Coalition’s plan to allow schools to self-manage projects will in fact ensure value for money, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today. “This is a slap in the face for Julia Gillard, who for a year and a half has allowed waste, mismanagement and rorts to flourish insisting that everything was fine,” Mr Pyne said. “Now Mr Crean says he needs to wait for the Orgill report, but he “hopes” they’ll make a recommendation to pay funds directly to schools? The Coalition didn’t need a $14 million taskforce to create a policy to stop the waste, when the problem was patently obvious to everyone. “Every parent in Australia with a child in a government school need only compare their school building to the local non-government school to get a reality shock about who has received value for money in this program. “This is an abject humiliation for both the Minister and Prime Minister who have been rushing money out the door, only admitting at the eleventh hour, in the election campaign, that self management would save money. “Reminiscent of Labor’s climate change policy, rather than getting on with it and handing the money to school principals to manage, Mr Crean and Labor now wants to establish a Citizens Assembly in every school giving the money to a “local consultative committee”. “Both Simon Crean and Julia Gillard are complicit in record waste and mismanagement. A Coalition Government will stop the waste and establish a full judicial inquiry into the school hall program,” Mr Pyne said.