The Brumby government is following previous State Government policy as far back as the 1970s in placing the provision of public schools in new areas at the mercy of private development. The current State Government is denying  thousands of parents wishing to choose a free, secular and universal school education for their children for several years behind private school provision.

Church schools have control of both the purchase and development and provision of new land and buildings in outlying developments. They have the power , legal ability, and enterprise to purchase large tracts of land, subdivide it, then build schools to their own timetable. They are assisted in this private enterprise with taxpayers money.

Contrast this with the policies followed by the Victorian State Governments since the 1970s. They have abdicated the power, legal ability and enterprise to purchase land for new schools before the developer provides the services to the relevant site. This means that the State Government is at the mercy of private developers whereas church schools operatives have kept control of their own destiny.

No democratic government worth anything would give up the responsibility and power to build its own schools before its competitors. Or are Victorian public school parents still at the mercy of the extreme neo-liberal Treasury economists from the Kennett years who have made such an ungodly mess of our financial system.

One of the reasons for growing enrolments in the private sector is the lack of prompt provision of primary and secondary schools in the newly developing areas.

DOGS provide a glaring example of the above situation. Please note that the private developers are within their legal rights to do what they have done and are going to do in their own good time. The State government has decided that they will follow the time-table set by the private developers and if they go broke and fail to provide service, then public school parents will have to wait for the next developer to either go broke in the coming depression or provide roads, water, sewerage, electricity and gas in their own good time.

Primary Schools at Mernda

Here is a typical example. There has recently been extensive development at Mernda in the northern corridor of Melbourne. There is an existing State primary school which has serviced the  neighbourhood for many years. It has a high morale and excellent teachers. A brand new Catholic school has recently opened nearby and is attracting students from the area. A new public primary school is proposed for 2011 next to the Catholic school, in a possible Public Private Partnership and some of the remaining pupils from the original school  may be shifted across a very busy road.

DOGS quote from the Website of the current public school :

'While growth is often seen as a positive, it also will impact upon the culture of the school. We have a dynamic, friendly and interactive school community and it is important that we retain the many positive strengths of our existing school culture and interactions with our parent body and school community.

Another decision that faces the school community is that the government has announced that a new school will be built in Mernda under the Public Private Partnership model [possibly] in the year 2010. Our present site is well favored by many members of the community for its access, safety and facilities. There has been concern expressed about a split in the community between the 'new' Mernda and the 'old' Mernda. The community will need to make a decision about whether to support this school or our present school site.'

So, here you have a happy, integrated school community of children from many different  social backgrounds in óld' Mernda being divided : How? By new religious schools duplicating existing primary facilities; de-stabilisation of public provision; and the forcing of children into a possible 'shared facilities' or private/public partnership situation next to a Roman Catholic school on the other side of a very busy arterial road. 

Secondary Education at Mernda

 Meanwhile, in the secondary area, there are already two existing private schools in the area and another one proposed for 2010. The Ivanhoe Grammar school and the Plenty Valley Christian School have been aggressively touting for students for some years, and the Uniting Church has acquired many acres of prime development land for a large school, Ácacia College' and various other activities. They are currently touting for 'expressions of interest'. Their website indicates that they expect enrolments of 1200 students across levels Prep to Year 12. The proposed annual tuition fee ranges from $4,800 to $5,800. The work has already commenced on this site. The Uniting Church in the area attracts very few attendees to their church and the South Morang Church has recently been closed and is offered for sale.

There is nothing to prevent any of these religious schools from selling portions of their land to developers for profit if its fits their plans.  Purchases of development land by religious bodies have been assisted through the generous assistance of billions of dollars of taxpayers money.

But what is happening to the proposed Prep - Year 12 Public Secondary school? After many letters, emails and phone calls, DOGS discovered that nothing whatever is happening to the provision of the choice of a public secondary school in the Mernda developments. Anyone wishing to enrol their children in a free secular and compulsory secondary school will have to bus them on a  dangerous road to Whittlesea or Mill 'Park.

Why? The proposed land for a public secondary school is in a difficult site in a new development site. The developer has not yet provided roads, sewerage, electricity, gas or water to this acreage and has no immediate plans to do so. Consequently the Minister, Bronwyn Pike and her Department of Education bureaucrats have no plans or proposed opening date for a secondary school on this site. Perhaps the Minister hopes that if she can only wait long enough, there will be no need for public provision in this new development. The parents and children will have all been forced to pay fees and enrol their children in the religious school if they want an education for their children in the local geographical area.

If the developer goes broke in the coming depression, there could be no public provision of a free secondary education for children of parents who have lost their jobs in Mernda. They will not be able to expect religious schools to offer a free education. Even if they did offer charity it will come with a religious price.

Education Minister and Her Department Have Lost Their Way and Control over the Provision of Public Educatio

 DOGS call upon Mr Brumby and his Minister for Education to fulfil their democratic responsibilities to the Victorian citizens and taxpayers. Our taxes should be used for the provision of a quality free, secular and universal public education system. Public resources should not be channelled into religious organisations using scarce taxpayer funds to acquire land and build fee paying schools in new developing areas.

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