States say Christopher Pyne has dropped public schools bombshell in heated education meeting

Extract from ABC News website:

Updated 16 minutes ago

Video: Adrian Piccoli speaks after meeting with Christopher Pyne (ABC News)

Related Story: Pyne faces hostile states after axing Gonski

Public schools may be the big losers under the Government's plans to scrap Labor's Gonski education package, state and territory ministers say they have been told.

Ministers raised the concerns after emerging from a "very heated" meeting with their federal counterpart, Christopher Pyne, in Sydney today.
Mr Pyne announced this week the Federal Government would keep Labor's school funding plan in place for 2014 then replace it with a new funding model.
State and territory ministers say they have not been given any commitment over the level of school funding they will receive after 2014.
The ministers from Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and the ACT came out of the meeting in Sydney as a group saying that all they have been given from the Government is more uncertainty.
New South Wales Minister Adrian Piccoli says the Commonwealth has plunged education across the country into unnecessary uncertainty.

Buyer's remorse?

"The Commonwealth has implied that if there is a reduction in funding for states that signed up to the Gonski plan the reduction may well only come out of public schools," he said.
"That is of enormous concern to all jurisdictions."
Mr Piccoli added the Gonski plan had ended the war between government and non-government schools over funding.
"For six months we've had peace in terms of that argument but unfortunately the actions by the Commonwealth have now reignited that."
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine warned Mr Pyne he will accept nothing less than the full deal agreed to under the Gonski plan.
"The Victorian Government fought long and hard and got the best deal possible for all Victorian schools," he said.
"We expect the Federal Government to stick to that deal and we'll be fighting for that for Victoria."
Tasmanian Minister Nick McKim says it is a "bombshell revelation that will rock the public education system to the core".

Education ministers present 'unity ticket' on funding

The row has united the state and territory education ministers, who had struck deals with the former Labor government and are insisting they be honoured in full.
"Here's a unity ticket for you right here - a Labor minister, a Greens minister, National ministers, Liberal Party ministers, sticking up and unified behind Australian schools and behind funding certainty for Australian schools," Mr McKim said.
Mr Pyne played down the row and insisted the Coalition is keeping all its pre-election commitments.
"Low and behold there is a disagreement about funding between the states and the territories and the Commonwealth," Mr Pyne said after the meeting.
"I am the national Education Minister, there needs to be national model that is fair to all states and territories and that is equitable to students and that is what we will achieve."
Mr Pyne said that "no-one should assume they will get less money".
"I'm completely committed to a sector-blind approach on the loadings that might follow students, whether they are in the public sector or the private sector and that's always what we've said."
Before the meeting, the Australian Education Union urged states and territories to hold the Government to account.
AEU president Angelo Gavrielatos says the state should ensure the Gonski agreement is kept.
"The Coalition before the election made it very clear that they would honour every agreement and deliver for schools dollar for dollar what had been promised to them," he said.

"Keep the promise, keep the promise, because ultimately it is about our children, their futures, but also the future productivity and prosperity of the nation as a whole."