This Press Release is not a definitive analysis of the debates that to date have occurred in the Victorian Parliament in relation to the Education and Training Reform Bill. It is obvious from the Hansard debates that politicians from both sides of the house feed from the same intellectual and informational "swill". It is also clear that the thousands of petitioners who signed petitions supporting genuinely public education have been ignored and treated with contempt by their Victorian representatives.

However, the cartoon in our full page Advertisement on March 27 2006 published in the Age and major country papers, anticipated and correctly portrayed what has actually occurred. One only has to read Kosky's summing up in the Assembly debates as published in Hansard Thursday 30 March, and particular amendments moved by Shadow Minister for Education, Mr Dixon, (an erstwhile bureaucrat from the Catholic Education Office,)  to understand the underlying influence of the church school faction. We quote from Hansard:

Ms Kosky (Minister for Education and Training):

"Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart's submission to the discussion paper said that the establishment of a single statutory authority is required to ensure there is consistency in regulation and quality assurance in government and non-government schools. He said that this authority would provide a clear framework by which to oversee school review and improvement processes. "

Mr. Dixon ( Shadow Minister for Education and Training complained in his

Media Release on 28 March 2006:

" ...The Bracks Government wants to establish a Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority (VRQA) which will have the power to regulate all aspects of all Victorian schools....."

He demanded that:

" The Bracks Government must amend the Bill to ensure the VQRA has equal representation from the Catholic and independent school sectors as well as the public sector. "

He presented his suggested amendments during the debate on the Bill on 30 March 2006.

DOGS suggest that Dixon's key amendments in relation to the VQRA are outrageous and insulting to public education children, parents, teachers, and supporters.

 Dixon wishes to remove the regulation of non-government schools and home schooling from the Act and only give the power to register non-government schools in the Act. So he wishes to place non-government schools outside the Act in relation to the regulation of private schools, at the same time placing Catholic Education and other private school representatives over the regulation of government schools.

Under 4.2.4. (2)(a)(i) of the Bill the members of the Authority include at least three persons who, in the Minister's opinion, are highly regarded in the area of school education. Dixon in his amendments wished to add the following:

"one of whom represents the interests of non-government schools operating under the auspices of the Catholic Education Commission and one of whom represents the interests of other non-government schools"

If you take Dixon's two amendments together he wishes to remove the regulation of private schools from the Act, at the same time imposing two out of three school representatives from the private sector over government ( public) schools.

This means that according to the Liberals formula, 66%  of children in the public school sector are to be represented - if they are lucky -by one out of three persons on the authority. The favoured 33% in the private church school sector on the other hand are to be represented by two out of three persons.

DOGS WONDER WHETHER ARCHBISHOP HART HAD THIS KIND OF REPRESENTATION IN MIND WHEN HE MADE THE ORIGINAL SUBMISSION TO MS KOSKY. PUBLIC SCHOOL  SUPPORTERS HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING BECAUSE MS KOSKY HAS NOT AND WILL NOT MAKE THE SUBMISSION PUBLIC.

The Bill is currently being considered by a Legislation Committee in the Legislative Council. It should stay there - permanently.

DOGS WILL KEEP READERS INFORMED ON THE ABOVE MATTER.

For further discussion on these matters, listen to 3CR, 855 on the am dial

at

12.30 p.m. next Saturday.