Yes, the logic is simple: heavily subsidise private schools and wealthier parents will tend to send their kids there. Because wealthier kids have better opportunities to learn and are generally better behaved, teachers can spend more time teaching and less on crowd control, and get better outcomes. So what?

All your article shows is that if you throw enough money at something it usually gets better. Interestingly, private school children don't seem to do better at Uni, so something must be wrong with the elite indoctrination system -- better throw some more money at it. Meanwhile teachers and kids in the public system are struggling along on the smell of an oily rag, and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen. Gee, I wonder why?

'While a certain amount of regulation and oversight is warranted, it should be clear that what is being envisaged will overwhelm non-government schools with the type of intrusive, byzantine and costly regulation currently forced on government schools and guaranteed to stifle independence.'

Well, the solution is pretty simple. Don't take any money from the government and you can be truly independent. Most of us like to have our cake and eat it too, but we realise that isn't possible.

All the bargaining tools are there at your disposal. You have the power to bargain for less intrusions and proportionally less money. Or, you can ask for more money, and accept more intrusions.

The governmnet provides a schools. Parents who decide those schools aren't good enough forgo any entitlements to any funding at all. This is their choice, and that is the consequences. These private schools can minimise that pesky governmnet regulation in proportion to the handouts they receive.

I fear not the private school students coming back to the public system. For a start, people choose a school based on their perceptions of the quality of the school and the status. Most would not change their decision if the governmnet funded the school less, but some would not be able to afford the increased fees. So be it.

Anyway, I think if private schools want to lobby for more money, they should lobby the ridiculously rich private schools to do the Christian thing and help out the less well off private schools. That way they could sure up the market share for their particular faith and distributing the public money to poorer schools within their belief system.

'Private' schools, by definition, shouldn't get any money from the government.

Why do private school kids still do worse at Uni?
Back in my day it was thought to be due to attitude and "spoon feeding". Sure they got good VCE scores, but did they learn how to learn?
In my experience they had a "its not what you know but who", and in their minds they were going straight to management...only plebs needed "hands on" skills. The same attitude is reflected in big business culture. "Soft skills" (politics) are considered more valuable than "hard skills" (productivity).
My main issue with Catholic schools is that religion should never be allowed near kids. Let them develop thinking skills before dumping illogic on them.
Let private be private and public public. Enough of the Orwellian double-speak and lame excuses for handouts.

I have seen some organisations where the staff were lazy, incompetent, smug & self satisfied, but none of them prepared me for the sheer ineptitude of our local high school. I was assured that this large [1400 to 1700 students] near country high was one the better ones before I bought my home.

I would have ripped my kids out of it if I had been able, financially, but as I wasn't, we tried to improve things.

In the 12 years I was an office bearer in the P&C we rarely saw a teacher, except when one wanted some money. These were welcome, as they were at least trying to do something other than go through the motions.

This was different to the senior maths & physics teachers who could not have passed the coursers they were supposed to be teaching, but made no effort to improve their ability.

My wife established for the P&C, a school text book hire scheme. This not only saved the parents money, & helped some kids get books, it injected $170,000 into the school budget each year.

Would you believe that we had to chase, continually, the heads of department for information on their requirements? We had to have our budget done, & orders for next years books placed by the end of September each year. These senior staff could not get into their head that some things have to be done in a timely manner. With some of them it would have required an act of parliament, & a large bulldozer to push them into any form of activity.

That any taxpayer should be forced to pay for these homes of ineptitude, & not get some of their taxes contributing to their kids education in a better system would be immoral.

govt in its wisdom..

dosnt pay unemployment/benifits to those working
dosnt send healthy/to hospitals
dont send winter-clothing to desert dweller's

i fail to see/the poor-me..
to the elites...in private-schools

govt is formed..to care/for..the less well-off
instead..its great at subsidising the rich
giving land-grants to farmers/miners/loggers

subsidies for the very well-off..multinational..medi-sin-al..drug-cartels...
even massive/subsidies for the auto-industry..etc

it neatly got rid..of death-DUTIES
not that that affected..the elites..
with their wealth/stashed,,in familly-trust's

burdend the poor with..tax on wages
[when it can only tax income..NOT wage]
gave the poor a gst..and soon a car-bon/tax

enough is enough...govts fund govt schools
private can fund..their own education

im over the poor-me...of those who want/it all
stealing from the dis-advantaged/exploited..abused/oppressed

just so they can do their..collusive deceit..upon the ignorant

its time..we lost all govt largess..to the wealthy
no fuel-subsidies..to industry/miners/farmers

let the user/especially abusers..pay
we cop minimum...acces/charges..to phone/electicy/water

and the big-users/resourse-abusers are subsidised by the spendthrift/pensioner/wage-earner..tax payer

enough is enough...
the elites get decent ratios..teacher/student
teachers get generouse-wage..and the public/teachers get the shaft

we see much the same with docters/nurses..
in public/private hospitals

enough is enough..[too much]

i fail to see/how..you can sleep at night

poor you

Close all non government schools. It is divisive and elitist.
The government has a duty to provide a public school place for every Australian child under our compulsory education laws. That is all they should provide.