DOGS agree with the Australian Greens that the  group advising the Federal Government on its School Chaplaincy program is stacked with religious representatives from both religious schools and religious groups. Seven out of the nine persons on the group are directly connected with religious bodies. Only one is connected with public education and she should not have anything to do with it. DOGS are gravely disappointed at the involvement of the President of ACSSO in an exercise that will destroy our free secular and universal public education systems. The President of ACSSO should shout out and get out ASAP!

There are nine appointees.

Four persons on the group are directly drawn from religious schools. They are:

•  Bill Daniels  Independent Schools of Australia);

• Neil Brown, chairman of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria;

• Ian Rockman, Chairman of the Australian Co-Ordinating Committee of Jewish Day Schools

• Abdul Rahman Najmeddine, President of the Australian Council for Islamic Education in Schools

There are three persons from religious groups. They are :

• Stanley Jeyaraj,  the Churches' Commission on Education

• Tim Mander, , Scripture Union Queensland

• Haydn Lush, Director of  South Australian Schools Ministry Group

There is one person who is an employee of the federal government. This is none other than Bill Burmeester who is involved with the Howard Government's official history on State Aid. We are still waiting on a reply from our latest correspondence with him. ( See Press Releases 130 and 140 at www.adogs.info/pr130.htm and www.adogs.info/pr140.htm ).

The final member is Mrs Jennifer Branch, President of the  Australia Council of State School Organisation  (ACSSO).

DOGS remind here that ACSSO, on their website at http://www.acsso.org.au/ACSSOis.htm has the following statement

DOGS also remind Jennifer Branch of a President of ACSSO, Joan Kirner, whose involvement with a federal government body, the Schools Commission, compromised the State School pressure groups and was crucial in the releasing of the billions of dollars of taxpayers' money to the private sector. Public Education is still paying dearly for her involvement with a federal government body. DOGS advise Jennifer Branch to discontinue her involvement with this latest Government attempt to compromise and destroy the underpinnings of our public education system.

DOGS also call on Jennifer Branch to retract her support as reported in the Australian of October 31, 2006 where the following is reported:

     "Although community reaction to the initiative was mixed.... The biggest parent group in the country endorsed it. Australian Council       of State School Organizations President Jennifer Branch, supported the initiative, despite doubts about whether the offer of $20,000 per school to help provide a chaplain was enough.

It will not go very far; you are probably only going to get someone for eight hours a week out of $20,000 with on-costs included."

She attempted to hose down concerns over any religious agenda. 'Lets not make this a religious debate' she said. It's not about teaching religion in schools. It is a pastoral care issue and providing our students with another means of support."

DOGS are mystified by what we have just reproduced. Since when did school chaplains cease to be religious people? The School Chaplaincy scheme is a thin end of the wedge scheme to undermine and destroy public education in this country. It is just another federal government attack on the very cornerstone of our democratic society. And where is Jenny Macklin?

Jennifer Branch, Don't  let Julie Bishop do to you what John Howard did to Meg Lees!

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