New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell and Prime Minister Julia Gillard prepare to sign the National Education Reform Agreement in Sydney on Tuesday. Photo: AFP/Saeed Khan NSW independent MP Rob Oakeshott congratulated Mr O'Farrell for signing on to the reform, calling it a "big win" for the state. Australian Education Union federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said the "historic breakthrough" should spur other state and territory leaders to sign up quickly. "Parents outside NSW will rightly be asking why their leader would wait any longer to commit to Gonski," he said. By signing up, there would be $14.5 billion in additional funds across the country. No leader should knock that back. Queensland does not appear to be close to a deal. Premier Campbell Newman remains opposed to what he calls new bureaucratic obligations that will be imposed on schools under the reforms, while demanding the federal government abandon its plans to fund the reforms through higher education funding cuts. Mr Newman's spokesman said on Tuesday he wanted to strike a deal but he would be writing to Ms Gillard in the "next few weeks" with suggestions on what needed to change to pave the way for an agreement. Apart from the other conservative states, the Labor-run jurisdictions of Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are yet to sign up. It is understood Tasmania remains concerned about how the funding model translates to reality, having questioned at the COAG meeting why a particular state school would gain less than a private school. Tasmanian Labor Premier Lara Giddings said her government had had constructive discussions with the federal government but its position had not changed since last week's COAG meeting. "The Gonski reforms are critical to the education of our future generations but it is important that we get the right funding model to maximise the benefits for Tasmania," she said. We need to close the gap between the best and worst educational outcomes and I want to ensure that the package is focussed on giving a hand up to schools that face the greatest challenges. South Australia's Acting Premier, John Rau, said further meetings with the federal government were scheduled in "coming weeks."ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher's office said her government was "continuing negotiations with the commonwealth government to reach a deal in the best interests of Canberra schools and students." WA Liberal Premier Colin Barnett's spokeswoman said the state was willing to continue discussions but the offer as it stood was "not attractive to WA" and its position had not changed as a result of the NSW deal.