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].
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].
However, this expression of willingness to discuss details was not equivalent to a signed agreement to implement the policy.
缺失的脈絡
此聲明 cǐ shēng míng 忽略 hū lüè 了 le 新南 xīn nán 威爾斯州 wēi ěr sī zhōu 已 yǐ 在 zài O O ' ' Farrell Farrell 聯盟 lián méng 政府 zhèng fǔ ( ( Coalition Coalition ) ) 下透過 xià tòu guò 2011 2011 年 nián 推出 tuī chū 的 de 「 「 地方 dì fāng 學校 xué xiào 、 、 地方 dì fāng 決策 jué cè 」 」 ( ( Local Local Schools Schools , , Local Local Decisions Decisions ) ) 政策 zhèng cè 實施 shí shī 了 le 重大 zhòng dà 學校 xué xiào 自主 zì zhǔ 改革 gǎi gé [ [ 2 2 ] ] 。 。
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].
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.
Rather than claiming universal state support before agreements were finalized, Labor actively negotiated bilateral agreements with individual states [3].
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 專家 zhuān jiā 在 zài 當時 dāng shí 所 suǒ 指出 zhǐ chū 的 de , , 證據 zhèng jù 基礎 jī chǔ 確實 què shí 參差 cān chà 不齊 bù qí 。 。
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].
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.
關於新南 guān yú xīn nán 威爾斯州 wēi ěr sī zhōu 已 yǐ 「 「 簽署 qiān shǔ 」 」 的 de 聲明 shēng míng 在 zài 當時 dāng shí 是 shì 事 shì 實上 shí shàng 不正 bù zhèng 確的 què de 。 。
The statement that NSW had "signed on" was factually incorrect when made.
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.
關於新南 guān yú xīn nán 威爾斯州 wēi ěr sī zhōu 已 yǐ 「 「 簽署 qiān shǔ 」 」 的 de 聲明 shēng míng 在 zài 當時 dāng shí 是 shì 事 shì 實上 shí shàng 不正 bù zhèng 確的 què de 。 。
The statement that NSW had "signed on" was factually incorrect when made.