Mark Speakman
Leader of the Opposition
Sarah Mitchell
Shadow Minister for Education
The Minns Labor Government has failed its third budget test, only announcing one new school in its 2025-26 Budget and being forced to reannounce projects to cover for its lack of delivery.
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said this budget proves the absence of Labor’s ambition for our schools.
“Families across New South Wales, whether they’re raising kids in our growing suburbs or out in the regions, deserve better than recycled announcements and empty promises,” Mr Speakman said.
“Parents want to know their children will have access to quality classrooms, proper facilities and the support they need to thrive, no matter their postcode.
Instead, Labor is spending more to deliver less, with no clear plan to fix the schools we already have or build the ones we’ve been promised. It’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s a failure to deliver on the basics.”
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said it’s particularly bad news for the bush, with not a single new school or major school upgrade slated outside of Newcastle, Sydney or Wollongong.
“The fact there’s not one new school or major upgrade anywhere west of the divide, down south or on the north coast, speaks volumes about the Minns’ Government’s priorities for education in this state,” Mrs Mitchell said.
“All kids should have access to high quality schools and classrooms no matter where they live, but under Labor regional students completely miss out.
“The only exception is the forced rebuild of Willyama High School in Broken Hill due to a significant mould outbreak, and even that has only received funding in this year’s budget, despite it being promised in 2024.”
There are major concerns around the slowing infrastructure pipeline with the Government’s $2.6 billion package only projected to build 140 new classrooms, despite the Coalition delivering close to 500 new classrooms, 55 specialist learning spaces, 13 halls, 12 libraries and 9 covered outdoor learning areas for $770m in the 2021 school year alone.
“The devil is in the detail when it comes to this budget and the numbers clearly don’t stack up,” Mrs Mitchell said.
“Not only is Labor spending more for less, but it’s also not being clear about how much money will go towards maintenance and minor works, with those figures missing from the budget papers.”
The budget also falls short when it comes to early childhood education and care, with just four new preschools due to be opened in 2025-26.
“Despite Labor’s promise in the lead up to the 2023 election to build 100 public preschools, it will take them three years to build just five preschools,” Mrs Mitchell said.
“It’s also unclear how the Government plans to uphold its commitment of deliver universal pre-Kindergarten for every child in NSW before 2030, because the amount on offer won’t create anywhere near enough places.”