The next crisis

I have a big problem with public funding of any non-secular schools

Been to the Vatican lately, ian ?

I would include most of the GPS schools in my observation ( oh and BTW I went to one of them).

Public money should go to public schools first...

Owe, in case you are wondering how this state of affairs can be, it's because of the funding formulae....the cafflicks sit outsie the feds' controversial "SES" funding system b/c the bishops argued it might be detrimental (would have been), so they maintained fundign under the old scheme. Then you have to go to the formula. The govt calculates the "average cost of educationg a child in a public school" (AGSRC for short - av govt sch recurrent cost). The cafflicks get funded at a rate 85% of the ACTUAL AGSRC by the feds. This is then topped up by state govts (who at least in NSW also provide generous sbsidies by way of subsidies on interest payments for capital works). State schools, however, are NOT funded at ACTUAL AGSRC....by definition, half the schools are atttracting less. It's this funding nexus that's important.

neat, huh! Now try explaining that to a Herald-Sun reporter, or local politician and watch their yes glaze over faster than you can give them a spreadsheet! No wonder it never gets discussed, and Latham went the angle of the symbolic attempt at big hitting.

The Pixies have a really neat proposal for redressing the balance. NO - NOT ELIMINATING FUNDING - just freezing it at current levels and breakign the automatic nexus and allowing public schools to get ahead.

Dynamite to whom? If punters were really upset, who do they turf out of office? Both majors back the cattle-ticks getting the money (with differences only in the detail, not the principle). Further proof, if further proof were needed, that the sensible middle-class progressive non-religious type is politically disenfranchised.

Et me, Ian

The Catholic schools I went to were woefully under-resourced compared to their local state counterparts. I can't believe things have changed that much. A posh Catholic school would likely be as well resourced as any posh school.

Crisis-we-had-to-have: (has to something that JH can engineer)
Failed assassination attempt on the Prime Minister, but unfortunately the Deputy PM cops it. Several women of middle eastern appearance were reported to have been seen leaving a white van on the side of the road minutes before the Prime Ministerial motorcade went by. The explosion destroyed the car carrying the Deputy PM who was known to be organising a challenge to the PM after the upcoming election.

The PM authorises the internment of all women of middle eastern appearance.

All fiction of course.

But the Deputy PM comes from the Nats. How about the Treasurer, or Minister for Foreign Affairs? Although, on second thoughts, the loss of either of those might not be considered a serious crisis.

Ian - sorry not to get back to you. Missed this one and it dropped.

Loreto and St Ignatius and that mob are "non systemic" Catholic schools, and receive funding in the same way the elites do (Used to be called 'Category 1-3 in 'old talk', when Labor attempted to put some 'needs based funding brakes on).

The mob I am talking about are the local St Padraigs. The $ amount attracted by each student via "the nexus" , based on AGSRC is delived to the state based Catholic Ed Offices as a block grant, to distribute. If you local Micks has potholes in the playground, it's about time they asked the CEO why they're not getting their fair share, and the brand new school in the outer suburban growth area seems to have got all the dough this year...

What Johnny did was at the same time as upping the amount to the micks, he provided the biggest percentage increases to the elites - up to 200%.

He has argued that it the funding increases are all enrolment driven, but the latest Productivity Commission Report puts the lie to this. Private school enrolments have increased overall by about 2 percentage points, while funding (in the Howard years) has increased by 8% or so in real terms. Funding to publics from the feds has not increased in real terms. Most of the 8% is accounted for by the Catholics, because of their numerical dominance.

on the upside Mark Vaile's office may revert back to being the only decent Nightclub in the history of Porpoise Spit.

In case you were wondering, the top floor of this building the old Royal Hotel used to be a club and is now where the Deputy PM has his local office, the bar downstairs is the easiest dolphon watch in Australia, I have seen dolphins in the river from those tables mroe than once.