There are a number of issues Kevin conveniently overlooks. The first is that costs for government and non-government schools are not equal. The government system takes on a vastly disproportionate number of those students who are most expensive to educate - those in rural and remote locations, those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds etc. For example, most government education systems offer incentives to teachers to take up positions in really remote settings (e.g. moving costs, extra pay and leave) and these costs inflate the supposed average cost of educating a government school student. I suspect that the cost of government school education for a secondary student in an urban, middle-class setting (the types of settings from which private schools draw heavily) is much less than $11,000. So suggesting that private school parents are saving the state huge amounts of money is rather misleading.
He also fails to mention evidence from one of the largest experiments with school vouchers. A voucher system has been in place in Chile for almost 20 years now. The evidence is that it has drawn middle-class students out of state schools and residualised them, while education standards have remained exactly where they were (contrary to claims that market-based reform would raise them).

Dr Donnelly knows that there are "still those who are committed to state control" of our schools, because he is one of them.

The self-appointed Grand Inquisitor of Australia's education system is being disingenuous when he lampoons others for their attachment to state controls, when so much of his public commentary is supportive of greater federal government control over what is to be taught in our schools, and how it is to be taught.

I have yet to hear what "choice" will remain to us when everybody is teaching out of the same federal-government-approved curriculum (teach it or else forget your funding).

The "school choice" question is a pea-and-thimble trick that shifts the political risk and accountability for public education away from politicians and onto parents. Why would governments bother to "fix" public education, when they can simply re-direct disgruntled parents with the chimerical "choice" to go through the private system, incurring great personal cost, and for which government can then wash their hands of accountability?

A voucher system effectively disenfranchises the tax-paying public of a means to hold the government to account for delivering quality public education. Parents would be better off tearing up their vouchers and insisting that their government do what their taxes are paying for: providing the world's best public education (we pay top dollar, after all!)

Nice trick; our taxes pay for both the public and a the majority of the private systems, but private systems claim 100% of the credit when they doing well, and aren't answerable for what they've done with our taxes if they do badly. Meanwhile, the public system is hung out to dry and anybody who isn't satisfied is simply told they have a "choice".

It seems the only choice our government won’t consider is the choice to restore the public system to full health.

The first line of this article is the most flawed and demonstrates exactly what is wrong with education policy in this country.

'Imagine shopping at a supermarket, buying a car or choosing a holiday and being told that the only option you have is government-funded, designed and controlled'

EDUCATION IS NOT A COMMODITY

Education is fundamental to any advance in society, it is not a disposable household item, it is not an industry in the market place, it is the one thing that can prevent us from destroying ourselves and if we really valued it we would not even consider having a two tiered education system.

Proof the 2 tiered system dosn't work? 40 million illiterate Americans is proof enough for me.

Competition always works in favor of the consumer. It is a good motivation to know your customers have an alternative. We should not
be surprised when the monopoly does everything in it's power to
stifle competition.

Every student in logic know a mistake in the premise will show up in the conclusion. We are divided on what it means to be human.
If we are only a cosmic accident, a product of blind chance, a result of natural selection,
which is carefully defined by its proponents as both mindless and purposeless, we will have one view of "what works."

If we decide to view man as the work of a Creator who is both mindful and purposeful, we have a different approach.
I say we should let those who want to exclude God have their schools, and not permit them to deny us our schools.

Sounds fair to me.

ichabod - here's a couple of reasons why it would be unwise to create a segragated education system:

The world is diverse - kids will be better prepared for adulthood if they are brought up in a diverse environment.

Kids integrate better than adults and mind difference less - again they will be better prepared for adulthood and less likely to fight over being different when they are adults.

Artificially giving a sense of being "superior" leads to facism. No master races here please.

ALL children will be the future, lets give ALL kids a good future.

Indoctrination is not education.

Kevin's moved from being a right wing lobyist to a simple lair.

Even with a voucher system it is important to remember that many parents cannot choose schools, in fact it is the schools that choose parents!.

The elite private schools of Australia, with fees up to $20,000 per year are grossly unavailable for the majority, with or without a voucher system. Federal funding is supposed to assist with the reduction of fees to provide greater access, yet can anyone name an elite school that has reduced their fees in real terms in the last decade?
Schools choose parents, not the other way around.

"The world is diverse - kids will be better prepared for adulthood if they are brought up in a diverse environment."

And that's why I use home based learning to educate my children.

I wonder if I will ever be given a voucher for all I do with them. At present I don't receive handouts or funding from anyone, for anything.

There is more to education, and more to getting an education, than what is found in public and private schools. Freedom of choice CAN make it better - but only if parents realise there are more choices out there than what is touted currently.

What evidence will there ever be that paying 3 times as much (or considerably more) for a child's education will achieve 3 times (or more) the result of a state school education? Seems to me that what folks are really buying for their kids is an opportunity.

Such parents may as well buy their children a lottery ticket - for what children do with an opportunity is in the hand of fate. Buy them a 10 dollar lottery each year, and save the rest of the money for family holidays, family time, family visits, church activities, community involvements. And save the extra time spent working, for that extra amount to send the kids off to a "private" school - - or even your local faith-based school, unless you are genuinely committed to your faith, to the extent of involving your family and your time in its teachings and practices.

And if you are just sending your kid off to a faith-based independent school on the hope he or she will soak up some spiritual values or profit from discipline or develop outstanding higher-order learning skills supposedly unavailable in state schools, you're going to have to pray for results. Good luck!

PS - my guess is that a voucher system for education is a cruel hoax. I would give a proper opinion on the matter, but I only a teacher, and not a qualified political economist.