Blogs - Comment and Analysis Written by Stephen O'Doherty

CSA congratulates Julia Gillard on being sworn in today as Australia's 27th Prime Minister, the first woman to occupy this high office.

Ms Gillard comes to her position after undertaking a significant reform agenda in education, including measures which have greatly benefited Christian schools.

The new Prime Minister has shown herself to have an enormous capacity for work, and to exercise her many responsibilities with good grace and strong relational skills. 

 

She comes to her new role having built considerable goodwill within our sector.

Ms Gillard has been true to Labor's promises to be even-handed about education policy, and we have no doubt that she will continue this approach as Prime Minister.

The agenda she recently outlined for the reform of school funding included specific commitments to a "fair" approach:

In the past, the question of school funding has been used to divide the Australian community, to pit school against school and school system against school system. My intention is not to follow this path, but to seek a constructive and open approach to the questions of school funding. (Sydney Institute speech, 15 April 2010)

The Funding Review will be one of the major reforms during the term of the next Government, and it is very pleasing to have such commitments up front.

If Labor is re-elected it will be very important that Prime Minister Gillard continues to exercise leadership in standing up to those who will undoubtedly use the Funding Review to again attempt division.

Equally important for the incoming Minister for Education (yet to be announced) will be to see through the important and welcome process of curriculum reform.

CSA enjoys a good relationship with Ms Gillard and her staff. This has been demonstrated, among other ways, in her willingness to speak each year at our National Policy Forum at Parliament House.

As we have done on each of those occasions, we will continue to pray for Julia Gillard as she takes on her new role.