David Gonski — BrandWiki

David Gonski

David Michael Gonski (born 1953) is an Australian public figure, corporate lawyer, and businessman. He is best known for his recommendations on funding schools in Australia, in a document known as the Gonski Report (or first Gonski Report), following a review commissioned by Julia Gillard, then Minister for Education in the Rudd Government in 2010, published in November 2011. He also chaired a second panel, commissioned by Turnbull government in 2017, to make recommendations on how school funding should be used to improve school performance and student outcomes, referred to as Gonski 2.0, with the second report being published in 2018. He has also held a large number of positions leading boards in different types of organisations – governmental, commercial, and not-for-profit or philanthropic organisations. Most notably, he has chaired the boards of the Australian Government Future Fund and ANZ Banking Group and been president of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Since 2005 and as of, he has been Chancellor of the University of New South Wales.

Early life and education

David Michael Gonski was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1953.[1] As a child, his family migrated to Australia in 1961 in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. His father, Alexander (Alec) Gonski (1919–2006),[2]

Career

In 2010, Gonski described himself as a "corporate lawyer-merchant banker".

Solicitor

Gonski practised as a solicitor with the firm of Freehills from 1977 to 1986, becoming their youngest ever partner at age 25, before leaving to co-found an investment bank. While at Freehills, he taught intellectual property law for the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales.

Business

He established a corporate advisory firm, Wentworth Associates Pty Ltd,[3] which was acquired by Investec Bank in March 2001.[4]

Gonski's business background is extensive, and in 2012 it was estimated that he sat on more than 40 boards.

He had two stints at ANZ Bank: as non-executive director of between 2001 and 2007, and then chair from 2014[3] to 2020. Between 2008 and 2012 he was chair of the board of ASX Limited.[5][3]

He also served as chair at Barrenjoey Capital Partners; Ingeus Limited; Swiss Re Life and Health Australia Limited; and Investec Bank (Australia) Limited.[6] He was chairman of Morgan Stanley Australia Limited, and remained a consultant after quitting the leadership position.

He was chairman of the advisory board of Transfield Holdings[7] (the private holding company of Transfield Services); and a non-executive director of Singapore Airlines.[8]

His previous roles have included non-executive director of John Fairfax Holdings (between 1993 and 2005);[9] Westfield Group (between 1985 and 2011);[10] Consolidated Press; non-executive director and chair of Coca-Cola Amatil (1997 to 2017);[11] and ING Australia.

Not all of Gonski's efforts have yielded strong results. During the mid-1980s on Gonski's advice, Frank Lowy established Westfield Capital Corporation with Gonski as an advisor. WCC invested in the predecessor of Ten Network Holdings that eventually resulted in Westfield losing several hundred million dollars.

In August 2022, Gonski was appointed chair of new retirement living provider Levande by EQT Infrastructure, following the acquisition of Stockland Group's 58 villages across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory.[12]

On 30 October 2023, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers appointed Gonski to the Competition Taskforce Advisory Panel, which has been established to advise the Treasury on national competition policy.[13]

Government and education

During 1996 and 1997, Gonski undertook a Review of Commonwealth assistance to the film industry. He was also a member of the committee appointed in 1998–99 to conduct an inquiry into the major performing arts sector (the Nugent Review, after Helen Nugent.[14]) He became chair of Film Australia (a forerunner of Screen Australia) in 1997.

In 1999, Gonski was appointed as a director to the UNSW Foundation. He became chancellor of the University of New South Wales and a member of the council of the university in 2005 and in 2007 became chair of the UNSW Foundation.[15] Gonski is the first alumnus of the University of New South Wales to hold the position of chancellor at that university.[16]

He was chairman of the National e-Health Transition Authority, a statutory authority of the Australian Government;[17]

Gonski Review and Reports

In April 2010, Gonski was commissioned by Julia Gillard, then Minister for Education in the Rudd Government, to be chairman of the Review of the Funding of Schools in Australia. The findings and recommendations of the committee were presented to the government in November 2011, whereafter deliberations were entered into by the federal and state governments to consider its content. The committee's report is known as the Gonski Report.[23][24][25] The review is also referred to as the Gonski Review of School Education (and, later, Gonski 1.0 or first Gonski Report). Subsequently, the proposed reforms (an increase in funding) became known as "Gonski" and supporters urged governments to "Give a Gonski". The report was removed from the website by the incoming government after the 2013 federal election and is preserved by Australia's Pandora Archive.[26][27]

Gonski Review and Reports

In April 2010, Gonski was commissioned by Julia Gillard, then Minister for Education in the Rudd Government, to be chairman of the Review of the Funding of Schools in Australia. The findings and recommendations of the committee were presented to the government in November 2011, whereafter deliberations were entered into by the federal and state governments to consider its content. The committee's report is known as the Gonski Report.[23][24][25] The review is also referred to as the Gonski Review of School Education (and, later, Gonski 1.0 or first Gonski Report). Subsequently, the proposed reforms (an increase in funding) became known as "Gonski" and supporters urged governments to "Give a Gonski". The report was removed from the website by the incoming government after the 2013 federal election and is preserved by Australia's Pandora Archive.[26][27]

In 2017 the Turnbull government commissioned Gonski to chair an independent panel,[28] called the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, to examine evidence and make recommendations on how school funding should be used to improve school performance and student outcomes. This report, referred to as Gonski 2.0,[29] was published on 30 April 2018.[30]

The 10-year anniversary of the Gonski report in May 2022 led to criticism of successive state governments failure to implement its recommendations.[31] Finally, by March 2025, all states and territories signed signed on to a new school funding agreement with the Albanese government (after the previous agreement had expired in 2024), which lifts federal funding of public schools to 25 per cent from 20 per cent.[32] Under the new agreement, states are required to increase their funding of public schools to 75 per cent of the minimum amount recommended by the two Gonski reviews, per Gonski's "Schooling Resource Standard" (SRS).[33][34] This means that they will be "fully funded" according to the Gonski model.[35] Gonski said in an interview that the news was "very, very pleasing".[34]