Dear Mr Frydenberg
I noted your comments on the Today show this morning ‘The fact is the Catholic schools will benefit greatly under the Turnbull Government's Gonski 2.0’ and ‘we really care about Catholic schools and we really care about education overall’ with interest.
I am aware of your impressive CV; your Masters of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and your time as a director of global banking with Deutsche Bank, and the keen understanding of policy and finance matters it must have given you.
With such a background, your comments about how “Catholic schools will benefit greatly under the Turnbull Government’s Gonski 2.0” came as a surprise.
Instead, Gonski 2.0 has cut $17 million – or 46 per cent of federal government support – from the Catholic schools, mainly inclusive parish primary schools with modest facilities, in your very own electorate of Kooyong. Details of these cuts are listed below for your reference.
I appreciate that this information may be new to you. The funding figures previously circulated by your colleague the Minister for Education to Coalition parliamentarians appeared to have been based on flawed parameters to create the false impression that all Catholic schools would gain funding.
Perhaps you might ask Senator Birmingham why he has not provided the correct information to you earlier.
| School |
Suburb |
Electorate |
Type |
Australian Government funding attracted by school in 2017 |
Australian Government funding attracted by school in 2018 |
Funding cut in 2018 ($) |
Funding cut in 2018 (%) |
| Genazzano FCJ College |
KEW |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Combined |
$6,671,737 |
$3,456,009 |
$3,215,728 |
48% |
| Our Holy Redeemer School |
SURREY HILLS |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$1,203,761 |
$644,145 |
$559,616 |
46% |
| Our Lady of Good Counsel School |
DEEPDENE |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$1,715,603 |
$886,353 |
$829,250 |
48% |
| Sacred Heart School |
KEW |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$1,940,693 |
$778,593 |
$1,162,100 |
60% |
| St Anne's School |
KEW EAST |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$1,232,509 |
$886,301 |
$346,208 |
28% |
| St Bede's School |
NORTH BALWYN |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$2,007,129 |
$1,264,926 |
$742,203 |
37% |
| St Bridget's School |
GREYTHORN |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$555,717 |
$395,210 |
$160,507 |
29% |
| St Dominic's School |
CAMBERELL EAST |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$1,983,510 |
$791,415 |
$1,192,095 |
60% |
| St Joseph's School |
HAWTHORN |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Primary |
$2,885,563 |
$1,011,929 |
$1,873,634 |
65% |
| Xavier College |
KEW |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Combined |
$10,907,193 |
$6,387,157 |
$4,520,036 |
41% |
| Siena College |
CAMBERWELL |
Kooyong (Vic) |
Secondary |
$5,804,194 |
$3,338,103 |
$2,466,091 |
42% |
| Total |
$36,907,609 |
$19,840,141 |
$17,067,468 |
46% |
Further information: Christian Kerr, 0402 977 352
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