EDITORIAL: Federal parliament has some hard work to do this week.
Top of the list is the future of education, with a vote on the government’s plan to transition to a needs-based funding model for schools called Gonski 2.0.
But the pesky matter of the future of the planet has hung around from last week, with no Coalition direction on Dr Finkel’s Review of our energy sector.
It’s a pity there’s only four parliamentary sitting days to get though all this important stuff before the pollies disappear for their winter break.
But that’s where horse trading kicks in.
Slang for shrewd bargaining, this oldest of political terms is a clear signal to Australians that despite all their protestations, our politicians are behind closed doors doing deals.
This week, the Greens are lining up their fillies with the Coalition’s on education funding, but it’s a broad catalogue including Senate crossbenchers and minor parties bringing all kinds of nags to the hitching post.
The Finkel Review seems to be the colt who got away, with a very reluctant show of steeds in the saleyards from the Liberal and National parties, no matter how hard deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce cracked his whip on his way into parliament’s Midwinter Ball.
It seems the hard right of the LNP is not prepared to trade anything on the evidence about air, water and ground pollution having an impact on our climate, apart from their finest donkeys.
And the Labor Party has kept all its ponies out of the education ring, refusing to even negotiate on the new Gonski deal, which is interesting since it was their event in the first place.
Just who’ll come out with the best stallion is anyone’s guess. When it comes to school funding, we can only hope it’s our kids who get the smoothest ride into the future, if that’s a place we’d confidently send them while our pollution continues.
