 www.araustralia.org |
Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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www.araustralia.org |
Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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Consumer choice has become a buzz word among politicians, bureaucrats and the promoters of privatisation. Lower costs, improved services and efficiencies are touted as the benefits of privatising public services. Education has also been transformed into a commodity. Dr. Jean Ely has documented the "ecclesiastical ambition" that she describes as being behind the push to increase funding to some Australia's richest private schools. She notes that despite the Australian constitution's prohibition on the state funding of religious bodies successive governments have concurrently increased funding to private schools while funding to government schools is rolled back.
Dr. Jean Ely is a founding member of the Defence of Government Schools movement (DoGS) and is a regular presenter on 3CR's Public Education program. She is the author of Reality and Rhetoric: An Alternative History of Australian Education. She delivered the Lionel Murphy Lecture on October 26th 2000 at the Nindi Dana Quaranook centre in Morwell. ** CD only |