ACT schools could lose up to $1.4 million each under a Coalition government, the federal government is warning in a new front in its campaign against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
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Prime Minister Julia Gillard said if the opposition refused to guarantee the extra investment provided for schools in the budget, federal school funding could go backwards by $16 billion over the next six years.
''If the national plan for school improvement does not proceed, every school, in every state and territory, and in every sector, will be worse off,'' she said on Sunday.
She released government data showing how much schools stand to lose if states and territories do not sign up to the Gonski proposals.
Under the plan, schools around the country would get an extra $14.5 billion plus indexation over the next six years. The government is offering to pay two-thirds of the bill and index its contribution at a higher rate than the states and territories.
''If the plan is not implemented, over the next six years, in the ACT, government schools would lose a total of around $40 million, $500,000 on average per school, and non-government schools would lose a total of around $60 million, $1.4 million on average per school,'' the Prime Minister said.
Her new analysis shows that if a federal Coalition abandoned the plan, schools would forgo $16.2 billion because of lost funding from current programs due to end and lower indexation triggered by state government cuts.
''They are resources that could be used in schools for literacy coaches, for extra teachers' aides,'' Ms Gillard said. ''It's the nation's choice - better schools putting our kids first, or school cutbacks and a lesser standard of education.''
Ms Gillard praised NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell for being the only state leader so far to sign her plan. ''He was under extraordinary pressure from the Leader of the Opposition to not sign up,'' she said.
''Premier O'Farrell proved that you can be a Liberal leader and not be a wrecker.''
Mr O'Farrell revealed on Sunday Mr Abbott had visited him when NSW cabinet was meeting to decide whether to support the deal. ''He made clear his view that the system wasn't broken, that the agreement shouldn't be entered into,'' he said.
The opposition said the government was cutting education funding over the next four years but Ms Gillard said that was ''100 per cent wrong''.
Last week, ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson asked Chief Minister Katy Gallagher how much money the federal government had offered the ACT as part of the the proposed education reforms.
Ms Gallagher refused to disclose a figure but said she was seeking additional money for ACT schools. She later said the ACT was unlikely to receive a large windfall under the reforms but would be no worse off.
Labor is also continuing its campaign against Mr Abbott's plans to defer by two years the phased-in rise in the superannuation guarantee from 9 per cent to 12 per cent.
Government officials said $11 billion was due to go into ACT workers' superannuation accounts by 2037 as the guarantee was raised.
''Some may think the numbers are small and a pause for two years is not a long time but the power of compound interest means such a change would have a very real effect on most people's retirement savings,'' Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Sunday.
He said this would cost a 30-year-old $19,000 by the time they retired.
''If the superannuation guarantee did not rise at all, they would be $127,000 behind. This would leave 8.4 million Australians with lower superannuation, but it would also be a hit to the long-term sustainability of the budget and the long-term strength of our economy.''
