On February 4, 2014, Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne announced a $70 million federal government plan to encourage public schools to become "independent public schools," with a target of 1500 schools achieving independent status by 2017 [1].
In his announcement, Pyne claimed: "every state and territory, including Labor states and territories, have signed on to the initiative with the exception of South Australia" [1].
This claim was immediately and directly contradicted by NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli, who stated: "The NSW government has not signed an agreement with the federal government to introduce independent public schools" [1].
Piccoli elaborated: "We don't believe the research supports creating either charter schools or fully independent public schools.
我们 wǒ men 相信 xiāng xìn 我们 wǒ men 在 zài 地方 dì fāng 权力 quán lì 与 yǔ 保持 bǎo chí 强大 qiáng dà 学校 xué xiào 系统 xì tǒng 带来 dài lái 的 de 协作 xié zuò 和 hé 效率 xiào lǜ 优势 yōu shì 之间 zhī jiān 取得 qǔ dé 了 le 正确 zhèng què 的 de 平衡 píng héng ' ' [ [ 1 1 ] ] 。 。
We believe we have the balance right between local authority and maintaining the benefits of collaboration and efficiency that come from a strong school system" [1].
Pyne's office attempted to support his claim by providing a letter dated December 2013 from Piccoli stating: "I look forward to working with you on the details [of the independent public schools program] over coming months" [1].
然而 rán ér , , 这种 zhè zhǒng 表达 biǎo dá 愿意 yuàn yì 讨论 tǎo lùn 细节 xì jié 的 de 意向 yì xiàng 并 bìng 不 bù 等同于 děng tóng yú 签署 qiān shǔ 实施 shí shī 政策 zhèng cè 的 de 协议 xié yì 。 。
However, this expression of willingness to discuss details was not equivalent to a signed agreement to implement the policy.
The claim omits that NSW had already implemented significant school autonomy reforms under the O'Farrell Coalition government through the "Local Schools, Local Decisions" policy introduced in 2011 [2].
The NSW government explicitly stated they did not support creating "two types of public schools in NSW" [1].
这 zhè 表明 biǎo míng 他们 tā men 的 de 拒绝 jù jué 是 shì 基于 jī yú 政策 zhèng cè 实质 shí zhì — — — — 对 duì 该 gāi 模式 mó shì 本身 běn shēn 的 de 分歧 fēn qí — — — — 而 ér 不仅仅 bù jǐn jǐn 是 shì 对 duì 联邦 lián bāng Coalition Coalition 提案 tí àn 的 de 党派 dǎng pài 反对 fǎn duì 。 。
This indicates their rejection was based on policy substance—disagreement with the model itself—rather than mere partisan opposition to a federal Coalition proposal.
The Grattan Institute's school education program director, Ben Jensen, stated that evidence that independent public schools produce better student outcomes was "very mixed" and that "if you just look at autonomy, the evidence on school improvement is, at best, very mixed" [1].
Jensen noted that Victoria had gone "very far down the autonomous path" while NSW maintained a more centralized system, yet both states achieved "essentially the same results" in PISA testing [1].
The article includes direct quotes from both federal and state education ministers, as well as independent expert analysis from the Grattan Institute, suggesting balanced reporting.
The claim is corroborated by ABC News reporting from the same period, which also documented the NSW Teachers Federation's opposition to Pyne's reforms and confirmed NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli's stance that NSW schools were already autonomous under existing state reforms [2].
**Did Labor do something similar?**
Search conducted: "Labor government education minister false claims state agreements" and "Gillard Gonski funding state negotiations"
The Labor Gillard government's approach to education funding differed significantly from the Coalition's IPS initiative.
Labor pursued the Gonski school funding reforms, which were based on a comprehensive review conducted by businessman David Gonski.
Labor Labor 没有 méi yǒu 在 zài 协议 xié yì 最终 zuì zhōng 确定 què dìng 之前 zhī qián 声称 shēng chēng 获得 huò dé 各州 gè zhōu 的 de 普遍 pǔ biàn 支持 zhī chí , , 而是 ér shì 与 yǔ 各州 gè zhōu 积极 jī jí 进行 jìn xíng 双边 shuāng biān 谈判 tán pàn [ [ 3 3 ] ] 。 。
Rather than claiming universal state support before agreements were finalized, Labor actively negotiated bilateral agreements with individual states [3].
新南威尔士州 xīn nán wēi ěr shì zhōu 实际上 shí jì shàng 是 shì 2013 2013 年 nián 第一个 dì yí gè 签署 qiān shǔ Labor Labor Gonski Gonski 改革 gǎi gé 的 de 州 zhōu , , 时任 shí rèn 州长 zhōu zhǎng Barry Barry O O ' ' Farrell Farrell ( ( 自由党 zì yóu dǎng ) ) 与 yǔ Julia Julia Gillard Gillard 的 de 联邦 lián bāng Labor Labor 政府 zhèng fǔ 达成 dá chéng 了 le 协议 xié yì [ [ 4 4 ] ] 。 。
NSW was actually the first state to sign up to Labor's Gonski reforms in 2013, with then-Premier Barry O'Farrell (Liberal) reaching agreement with Julia Gillard's federal Labor government [4].
This demonstrates that NSW's rejection of Pyne's IPS policy was not merely partisan—they had shown willingness to cooperate with federal Labor on education when the policy aligned with their priorities.
The December 2013 letter from Piccoli expressing interest in working on details could reasonably have been interpreted by the federal government as indicating NSW's willingness to participate in discussions.
The OECD and other education researchers have found that school autonomy can be beneficial when paired with appropriate accountability mechanisms and professional development for school leaders [1].
然而 rán ér , , 正如 zhèng rú 专家 zhuān jiā 当时 dāng shí 指出 zhǐ chū 的 de 那样 nà yàng , , 证据 zhèng jù 基础 jī chǔ 确实 què shí 是 shì 混杂 hùn zá 的 de 。 。
However, the evidence base was indeed mixed, as experts noted at the time.
By February 2015, multiple states (NSW, Victoria, SA, ACT, Tasmania) had effectively rejected or worked around the IPS model, accepting some federal funding for autonomy-related programs without creating the fully independent public schools Pyne had envisioned [5].
Ultimately, only Western Australia and Queensland fully embraced the model [5].
这个 zhè ge 问题 wèn tí 并非 bìng fēi Coalition Coalition 独有 dú yǒu — — — — 所有 suǒ yǒu 政党 zhèng dǎng 的 de 政治家 zhèng zhì jiā 有时 yǒu shí 都 dōu 会 huì 对 duì 其 qí 政策 zhèng cè 获得 huò dé 的 de 支持 zhī chí 做出 zuò chū 乐观 lè guān 的 de 声称 shēng chēng , , 超出 chāo chū 正式 zhèng shì 协议 xié yì 的 de 现实 xiàn shí 。 。
This issue is not unique to the Coalition—politicians of all parties sometimes make optimistic claims about support for their policies that exceed the reality of formal agreements.
Christopher Pyne explicitly claimed that "every state and territory, including Labor states and territories, have signed on to the initiative with the exception of South Australia" [1].
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli directly contradicted this claim on the same day, stating unequivocally: "The NSW government has not signed an agreement with the federal government to introduce independent public schools" [1].
While Pyne's office pointed to a letter expressing interest in future discussions, this did not constitute a signed agreement or commitment to the policy.
Christopher Pyne explicitly claimed that "every state and territory, including Labor states and territories, have signed on to the initiative with the exception of South Australia" [1].
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli directly contradicted this claim on the same day, stating unequivocally: "The NSW government has not signed an agreement with the federal government to introduce independent public schools" [1].
While Pyne's office pointed to a letter expressing interest in future discussions, this did not constitute a signed agreement or commitment to the policy.