Canberra - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned that states stand to lose out significantly if they listen to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's orders not to sign up to her schools funding plan. The prime minister today released government analysis showing how much individual schools stand to lose if Labor's plan is dumped. Under the plan, based on the Gonski proposals, schools around the country would get an extra $14.5 billion plus indexation over the next six years. The commonwealth has offered to pay two-thirds of the bill and index its contribution at a higher rate than the states. But Ms Gillard's new analysis showed that if the plan was abandoned - as is likely if the coalition wins the September 14 federal election - schools would forego $16.2 billion because of lost funding from current programs due to end and lower indexation triggered by state government cuts. (FA)
