In the title of their education policy the Greens make their intentions clear — they are seeking to re-ignite a divisive debate based on school ownership and governance and ignore the needs of students and parents.

While claiming that all children have a right to high quality education they then conclude that only the public system can guarantee that right.  Doing so completely ignores the more than 1 in 3 Australian students currently educated in the non-government sector.

Australia does need to invest more in education, including public education. However, this investment should be targeted to addressing student’s needs wherever they are educated.

Students with disabilities or special needs must receive increases in additional funding support, once again wherever they are educated, to meet their specific needs.  This has been at the top of the list of issues raised by Christian schools for over a decade.  While government schools currently educate the majority of these students, the fastest growth has been in non-government schools and this comes despite a significant disparity in the additional funding available to those schools.

To suggest, as Senator Brown does, that non-government schools systemically refuse enrolment for children with special needs is grossly offensive and demonstrates a lack of awareness of what is happening in schools themselves.

Senator Brown’s suggestion that non-government school funding should not be increased, in line with government school costs increases, is designed to financially cripple non-government schools by stealth.  Government school cost increases reflect the increased costs of providing education in the 21^st century, Senator Brown’s suggestion would consign non-government schools to providing education more reflective of the 1800s!

Commentary on the Greens policy statement by Mark Spencer