Oh dear what i think is clear from reading this is the author most likely has not read the Gonski report. He has more than likely read what the right wing press have said the report says and taken it a face value.
Some of the comments are the usual don't let the facts get in the way of your opinion we say by posters on this site.
All Australian kids should have access to a good education no matter what the personal circumstance of the parents. That means kids with disabilities or in remote or regional areas, kids with developmental or behavioural problems should all have equal access.
Private schools have the option of turning these kids away, an option that they exercise regularly.

Kenny,

That private schools don't cater for children with disabilities is not surprising, since the subsidy they get is the same for a normal child as a disabled one. Public schools catering for disabilities get up to $36000 per child whilst the private schools still get about $6000.

Kids with "behavioral" problems such as assault and bullying, not only disrupt the teachers, but the learning for all the other students. They should be separated from those that actually want to learn.

Kenny, private schools do not have the option of turning away children with disabilities any more than public schools do. It is against the law.

The reason why many children with disabilities do not attend private schools, is that their parents quickly realise they can access much more funding, and many more services, if they attend a public school.

But that's not reverse discrimination at all...

maybe we should focus a little on fairness and equity in education, at the expense of economics.

We need to look at the desired outcome due to education. Do you want mindless consumers such as with which our society is now plagued with or do we want a clear & sober thinking society.
If you want the former stick with the public schools, if you want the latter help supporting them by paying for your children to attend them. One proviso, to make private education affordable you need to support the parents first & they can then support the schools.
A flat tax would make this achievable in one political term. With decent politicians at the helm of course.

Shadow Minister, if you think that the reason most private schools strive to avoid having to accept their share of our country's difficult and disruptive students is because of funding disparities, you need a reality check. The reason they prefer not to have them is because they are hard work and mitigate against their chances of securing the kinds of test results that they can boast about on their prospectuses and benefiting from the accompanying, often completely undeserved, gushing praise from a largely credulous popular media. It seems you actually understand this from your final comment which suggests you think the best place for difficult students is on some educational scrap heap somewhere, probably in the local government school.

Rational Debate: <Kenny, private schools do not have the option of turning away children with disabilities any more than public schools do. It is against the law.>

Could you please identify the law that you claim prevents private schools from turning away students they don't want and explain why, if such a law exists, the great majority of difficult and disadvantaged students are cared for by public schools, not private. Are you saying that private schools habitually flaunt the law?