Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists the states will warm to a $4.6 billion peace deal he has struck with Catholic and independent schools.
NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes is refusing to accept the "unfair" agreement, which his predecessor Adrian Piccoli has derided as a "pathetic" capitulation to the powerful and well connected.
Mr Stokes, a Liberal like Mr Morrison, believes the Commonwealth is pitting public against private schools.
"We are very concerned that the federal government should not strike any special deals with any sector - public or private - but rather ensure that school funding is provided on the basis of need to all public and private schools," he told 2GB radio on Friday.
The prime minister is unperturbed.
"I don't think Rob's yet had the chance to really look at the full details of this," Mr Morrison told ABC radio.
"I'm sure once he sees that, he'll see those comments don't weigh up with what we've actually announced."
The government is gifting Catholic and independent schools $3.2 billion over 10 years to fund changes to the way parents' wealth is measured, based on income tax data.
An additional $1.2 billion will be spent on Catholic and independent schools as the government sees fit.
Mr Morrison says there will be no impact on state school funding arrangements.
"These announcements sit outside of those, and they're true to what the needs-based funding regime is, to make sure we're making decisions based on the actual income of parents," he said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described the funding deal as a Band-Aid fix.
"He's done a patch up job to keep one group of people happy but he's ignored all the other government school kids," Mr Shorten said.
"The government does not have a satisfactory explanation why they're putting back, reversing the cuts to the non-government schools but neglecting public education in this country."
Victorian Education Minister James Merlino is also filthy about the deal, saying it was unacceptable for non-government schools to be funded at a higher level.
"We won't sign up to any agreement until this inequality is addressed. We want a fair deal and equality for all kids. This is one mess that is still far from fixed," he tweeted.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann pointed out the federal government does not require the support of the states to increase funding to the Catholic and independent schools sector.
The deal brings to a head months of discussions to end a long-running war over the Gonski 2.0 school funding model.
The National Catholic Education Commission's Ray Collins says it will save faith-based schools from increasing fees or shutting down altogether.
Australian Associated Press
