The Australian Greens have reiterated calls for Kevin Donnelly to be sacked from Minister Pyne's curriculum review panel in light of his comments on corporal punishment.
Australian Greens spokesperson for Schools Senator Penny Wright said Mr Donnelly's endorsement of corporal punishment was unacceptable.
"The Australian Greens have always said Mr Donnelly's radical views made him a completely inappropriate person for such a prominent review," Senator Wright said.
A widening split in the National Party over the Gonski school funding reforms has been highlighted by an Australian Greens motion in the Senate today.
Federal Nationals MPs opposed a motion supporting the New South Wales Nationals Annual General Conference vote in favour of the full six years of Gonski funding.
The motion, moved by Australian Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Wright, came as Federal Nationals Senators mocked the Gonski reforms in a Senate Committee report.
1. notes the motion passed by the NSW Nationals Annual General Conference calling on the Federal Government to honour the six year Gonski funding agreement between the Commonwealth and the NSW government;
2. acknowledges rural schools will continue to be significantly disadvantaged as a result of the Abbott Government's decision to fund only the first four years of this agreement; and
3. supports the NSW Nationals' courage in standing up to the Federal Government in the interest of their communities.
Tony Abbott's broken promises on the Gonski school funding agreements will disadvantage every Australian student, a Senate Inquiry has found.
Australian Greens spokesperson on schools and deputy chair of the Senate Select Committee into Schools Funding Senator Penny Wright said the committee recommended the Government re-introduce the fifth and sixth years of funding to address inequality across Australian schools.
"Despite all of Tony Abbott's election promises, every school is going to be worse off," Senator Wright said.
The Abbott Government's huge cuts to education and indigenous programs and will hold back students in remote schools despite Education Minister Christopher Pyne's Direct Instruction plan, say the Australian Greens.
Australian Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Wright said the Coalition's abandonment of the Gonski funding model would see remote schools miss out on millions of dollars that would have helped attract and retain specialist literacy teachers.
a. the findings of the Youth Mental Health Report by Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute, which states 60 per cent of young people with a mental illness are not comfortable seeking information, advice or support from community agencies, online counselling or telephone hotlines
b. the judgement of the High Court in Williams and The Commonwealth (no. 2), which found the Commonwealth's National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program to be unconstitutional
Minister for Education Christopher Pyne has responded to Greens pressure to release the preliminary report of the Review into the Australian curriculum, posting the report online this afternoon.
However, Australian Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Wright said she was not surprised how little had been achieved by the reviewers.
The Australian Greens will today force the release of the preliminary report of the Abbott Government's review into the national curriculum within seven days.
Australian Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Wright will this afternoon move a production of documents motion, to be supported by Labor, which will require the Minister to release the preliminary report by Kevin Donnelly and Ken Wiltshire.
"This review has been shrouded in secrecy. The public deserve to know what's being planned for our schools," Senator Wright said.