{"id":15749,"date":"2025-04-01T08:50:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/?post_type=article&p=15749"},"modified":"2025-04-01T08:52:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:52:42","slug":"a-message-from-ais","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/article\/a-message-from-ais\/","title":{"rendered":"A message from AIS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2025 Federal Election \u2014 how to have your say<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is much at stake for families who have chosen an Independent school for their children in this year\u2019s Federal election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we are informing all members of our school community about the School Choice Counts<\/strong> <\/a>campaign \u2014 a national initiative by Independent Schools Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign centres on one simple idea: If student funding is cut from non-government schools, schools may be forced to raise fees. Families should not be penalised for choosing a school that best meets their child\u2019s needs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We think it is important that families understand the policy positions of the major parties and those who may hold the balance of power in a hung parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not advocating for one party or another, but we believe you should be aware of their education policies. Below are public statements from Labor, Coalition and Greens spokespeople summarising their positions on Independent schools:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party Positions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Labor (Senator Deborah O\u2019Neill)<\/strong>
‘Labor stands with Independent schools and the invaluable work they do, particularly in supporting vulnerable students. The idea that Independent schools are \u2018castles\u2019 is nonsense\u2014most are modest, community-focused, and provide critical outreach and learning pathways. We don\u2019t believe in pitting one sector against another\u2014every child matters.<\/em>‘<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coalition (Senator Sarah Henderson)<\/strong>
‘The Greens have made it clear they want to defund Independent schools entirely \u2013 calling them \u2018leeches\u2019 on public education. This is an outrageous attack on school choice and family freedom. A Dutton government will stand strong for non-government schools and ensure families aren\u2019t penalised for their choices.<\/em>‘<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greens\u00a0(Senator Penny Allman-Payne)<\/strong>
The Australian private school system is a leech on public education. It doesn\u2019t \u2018take pressure\u2019 off the public system \u2013 it sucks resources and students from it. And they get to play by their own rules\u2026 Labor should immediately end government overfunding of wealthy private schools and redirect that money to public schools.<\/em>‘<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also invite you to read the attached toolkit or visit schoolchoicecounts.isa.edu.au<\/strong><\/a>to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know how much families sacrifice to send their children to a school that is right for them. This campaign is your opportunity to help protect that choice \u2014 now and into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Association of Independent Schools of NSW<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2025 Federal Election \u2014 how to have your say There is much at stake for families who have chosen an Independent school for their children in this year\u2019s Federal election. That is why we are informing all members of our school community about the School Choice Counts campaign \u2014 a national initiative by Independent Schools Australia. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[8],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-15749","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/15749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=15749"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=15749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}