Control of State Aid Debate by Roman Catholic Functionaries

In 2000  leading Roman Catholic functionaries made at least three important statements which set the scene for the manipulation of both the legislature and the Press in the State Aid debate. In2008/09 Julia Gillard's fulfilled their long term strategy. In the process her rhetoric about transparency, scrutiny and accountability descended into farce

Overarching Roman Catholic strategy :

i. Skilful Management.

Brother Kelvin Canavan, then Director of the Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Sydney said in the Catholic Weekly of 9 January 2000 :

'There is a realisation that the arrangements in Australia are better than those existing inmost, if not all, other countries. In order to maintain widespread community support for non-government school funding, the leadership of Catholic education has to manage skilfully the occasional debate in the press on the funding of non-government schools.'

ii.  Bury the State Aid Issue in General Financial Relationship.

Rev. Thomas Michael Doyle, then Deputy Chairperson, National Catholic Education Commission said in Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Legislation Committee:  Reference: States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill  2000, recorded in Committee Hansard Tuesday 22 August 2000 at page 17:

'We have also said it should not be related to the Education Sector, but to the general financial relationship between the Commonwealth and States...

 iii.   Distance the Financial State Aid Debate from Education Area

Mrs Therese Temby, then a member of the National Catholic Education Commission and currently the Chair of the National Catholic Education Commission immediately followed the above comments of Rev. Doyle as follows:

'We think it is a Commonwealth-State matter and should not be part of the Education area. The Commonwealth and the States should do it in what was formerly the Financial Assistance Grants. If there is any discussion to be had, that is where it should be.'

How Ms Gillard Fits in with the Roman Catholic  Management of the State Aid Debate

 Ms Gillard further undermined the separation of church and state when she succeeded in having the Schools Assistance Bill  passed in December 2008. For the first time since the Schools Commission was formed in 1973 Ms Gillard separated out the comparison and discussion of federal funding to both public and private schools. Until December 2008, the funding had been contained in the same Act and was discussed at the same time in Parliament.

The purpose and effect of the Gillard's Schools Assistance Bill was the fulfilment of the strategy outlined by Doyle and Temby in 2000.

Where is the Debate and Parliamentary Discussion on Federal Funding for State Education in the Federal Parliament?

Not only has Gillard fulfilled the at least 8 year old strategy of the Roman Catholic functionaries. In spite of letters to Julia Gillard, DOGS have not been provided with any evidence of parliamentary Acts or discussion on the federal funding of public schools.  It appears to have been pushed into the coagulation and conglomeration of the COAG ( Council of Australian Governments) arrangements, ending up in the interstices of the State Treasuries. 

DOGS are still attempting to discover where the debate and discussion by elected representatives occurs regarding the billions of dollars involved.

Whatever Happened to MS Gillard and her Transparency Mantra?

Roman Catholic church school functionaries must be laughing all the way to the bank as well as the Treasury. Not only has Gillard separated out the debate about federal funding of public and private education. As ordinary citizen/taxpayers, DOGS are still trying to discover where the debate and transparency of public funding for public education has gone. No wonder principals of public primary schools are concerned that the State Treasuries are using federal funds instead of State funds for basic capital and maintenance expenditure.

DOGS Failed Attempts at Trying to Discover parliamentary Discussion on the Federal  Billions to Public Education.

In a letter first sent to Ms Gillard on 22 January which was reproduced on our website at Press Release No. 281 at www.adogs.info/pr281.htm DOGS complained at the lack of transparency in comparative funding of the church and state education sectors. Our local Senator could not assist us and indicated that the only person who could was the Federal Minister of Education herself. The letter was hand-delivered at the Canberra National Public Education Forum on Friday March 27, and DOGS finally received a reply to their letter. The trouble was the letter, signed by Ben Hubbard, Chief of Staff appeared to be an answer to a quite different letter. The response failed to address the basic issues raised in our original correspondence.

DOGS reproduce below their original request:

Request of Citizens who Believe in No Taxation without Representation:

 As  citizens who believe that Ministerial responsibility, accountability and transparency means that you provide us with basic information, we demand the following in relation to Australian Government funding of public (government) schools :

• The name of the Bill/Act that deals with funding of public ( government) schools

• The Section or Sections and Schedule or Schedules in the Act/Bill that deals with the public funding of public (government) schools when and if it is passed

• The documents that support the Act/Bill for example the Intergovernmental Agreement

• The date of any debate on the above Bill/Act in Parliament.

Gillard we want honest answers, not coagulated fob offs.

DOGS repeat the above . DOGS also demand to know which part of the Australian Constitution is being used to authorise funding to public schools though-out Australia.

Ms Gillard should perhaps re-name her function as Minister for Fulfilling Church School Funding Strategies.

DOGS protest that not only has discussion of the funding of religious education been separated from that of public education. The proper discussion of federal funding for public schools appears to have disappeared into a parliamentary black hole. Gillard efforts have, if anything, exceeded any honest hopes of the Roman Catholic functionaries. Not only has she separated the funding arrangements. She has placed public funding of public education into a black hole. 

DOGS want Real not Rhetorical Accountability and Transparency.

 DOGS remind Minister Gillard that as democratic citizens we expect 'no taxation without representation'.  Gillard should stop mouthing rhetorical  catch cries with no basis in reality. The funding of private and public schools should be put back together again and the Parliament should not be the mere plaything of Roman Catholic school activists.

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