by NAZIYA ALVI RAHMAN – THE Greens have unveiled a major election policy promising free lunches to every student in Australia’s public school system.
The initiative is estimated to cost $11.6b over the four-year forward estimates by the Parliamentary Budget Office.
- Free school lunches estimated to cost $11.6b.
- Greens also promise to abolish public school fees and charges.
- Revenue to be raised through a “Big Corporations Tax”.
The Party also intends to allocate $85m annually to expand existing breakfast programs across the country, aiming to tackle hunger and improve student wellbeing at school.
PILOT
Greens MP for Griffith Max Chandler-Mather has already run a pilot project.
Since 2022, his electorate office has funded a weekly breakfast program across four public schools, delivering more than 40,000 free meals using his parliamentary salary.
Chandler-Mather claims teachers involved in the initiative reported noticeable improvements in student focus, behaviour and engagement on days when breakfast was provided.
“School meals don’t just reduce cost of living pressures,” The Greens said in a statement.
“They have been proven to enhance attendance, attention span, academic performance, social skills, nutrition and mental and physical health.
“They’re also an effective preventative measure against youth crime by keeping vulnerable kids engaged in school.”
The new lunch plan builds on a broader set of education policies from the Greens, which include an $800 annual back-to-school payment per child, the abolition of public school fees and charges, and full funding of public schools to the 100 per cent Schooling Resource Standard by 2026.
To bankroll these sweeping reforms, The Greens plan to raise revenue through their “Big Corporations Tax”, which they say will free up $514b over a decade.
That money would not only pay for school meals, but also fund universal childcare and dental care through Medicare.
“In a wealthy country like ours, no kids should go to school hungry,” Mr Bandt said.
The ACT Government launched a similar pilot in August 2024 across five schools, offering free breakfast and lunch three days a week.
FRITTATAS
The meals – including yoghurt, wraps, frittatas, fruits and vegetables – are evaluated by the ACT Nutrition Support Service.
The program, running through July 2025, is being assessed through community feedback.
However, Liberal candidate for Ginninderra Ignatius Rozario criticised the idea online, initially posting, “Children go to school to learn not for free lunch.”
He later clarified he supports food access for students in need but argued the policy would not solve deeper education challenges.PC
Greens know very well that populist policies work, especially once the target audience feels aggrieved. More free stuff, ‘your entitlement’ exits all thought, its a free for all. Green policies are generally Marxist, those that may seem to escape that tag are conducive to it. They have a funding group identified for increased taxation and culpability, as happened in Germany in the 1930’s, with the State the sole arbiter. Superannuation, property assets are the targets. Do you not find a frightening similarity with Labor. Notice how industry super was exempted from the tax imputation policy proposedb in 2019? Unrealised capital gains to be taxed? Public servants and politicians super supported by Future Fund? FF investment policy being redirected for (public?) housing? The creeping Marxism is here, Greens are the ‘Youth Group’ make no mistake.