Peter's point is very astute.

1. chaplains have a role in education, only if they know what they're talking about

2. they work primarily with children, so we must insist their interactions be transparent and assessed independently

3. to council children with a range of mental health issues, one must be appropriately qualified (and continually trained) to ensure they're advising and utilising outside professionals appropriately

4. schools that subsidise them using government funding, ought to produce detailed reporting to track specifically what that public money has achieved, particularly separting out any religious and secular work being done

Labor's $222M would be best spent on improving the supporting structures around Australian school counselers.

As Australia becomes more Multi-Cultural , and by definition , less Christian.. The more that the Christian Activists attempt to wedge themselves into Australian Society.

You have to give the Baby Boomers one thing, The vast majority of them rejected Religion very early in their lives.

Some of the older established Churches , I suspect , have yet to recover from this rejection.

'You have to give the Baby Boomers one thing, The vast majority of them rejected Religion very early in their lives.'

Yea that's why so many are racked with guilt over abortion, divorces and trapped by porn. Instead of humbling themselves and admitting they were wrong they pass their lack of values to their children. Look at many of our Cabinet Ministers many of whom at the State level has had to resign in disgrace.It is also why so many are such poor role models and don't even have the decency to instill any decent values in their kids (ie if the kids have a parent decent enough to stay at home with them). Often we see the results of these god rejecter's children on the streets bashing the elderly for a fix of drugs or throwing a glass at someone in the pub. Congratulations for your rejection of God and any decent values. No wonder radical Islam is becoming so popular as they observe the godless hypocrisy of secularism.

Dear Meredith,
I wholeheartedly agree. I am a father of six, four of whom are currently negotiating rampant Christian (mainly fundamentalist) infiltration in the state school system. In my experience the Chaplains (one of whom we got to know very well) are appalling ignorant and dismissive (though no doubt well-intentioned) of the kind of secular-rational world-view and values that surely the majority of theists, atheists and agnostics hold with. At my kids primary school the Chaplain is actually facilitating the "Friends for Life" programme, with teacher supervision, notwithstanding that exposure to Chaplains is supposed to be optional, or that it is illegal for Chaplains to counsel in any way shape or form. Since the programme is run during normal school hours, the only option I have is to weed my child out and expose her to pariah status. I've complained about this but to no avail. The Chaplains are also in cahoots with the 'Strength' and 'Shine' programmes (designed to seduce with activities no kid could say no to, like Skirmish for boys and fancy luncheons for girls), which are nothing more than recruitment strategies designed to lure kids into more intensive extracurricular activities--Christian clubs, camps etc.
Everybody is entitled to their beliefs, but state schools should be ideology-free zones, where our kids go for an education and not indoctrination. It is a national outrage that both the education department is flouting the rules with their open-door policy, and that both major parties are backing this pied piperism with ATO funds.
Unfortunately, the majority seem indifferent.

Hi Severin,
good to see you back :-)

Squeers you are hilarous. You write 'but state schools should be ideology-free zones' Next thing you will be saying that the high priest Dawkins is ideology free. Can't you see the contradiction in your belief.

Dear Runner,
of course you are right. I take that as read. Obviously ideology structures all our lives, and I'm none too happy with the popular materialist version either, which however is a more pervasive, broadly-cultural hegemony that will be harder to shift than fundies in state schools. The other matter of course, from my point of view, is that Christianity is actually part of that hegemony, the other half.
Kids are already doctrinally assaulted on all sides by one vested interest or another, including their own families.
State schools should be one place, a sanctuary, where they are allowed to think for themselves!
And in case you're wondering, I don't tutor my kids, at least not overtly; of course I'm an influence, but I urge them always to think things out for themselves and accept no one's opinion uncritically.