Yes, Kevin Donnelly's articles are quite painful. There's only so many times you can witness someone attempt to apply such extreme libertarian principles to what is a fundamental element of shaping society, before you just can't stand the gaping holes in his arguments any more.
In his articles, addressing education for the disadvantaged and less able students is never touched upon, or if it is, it's always given a solution which has shown to be a failure overseas.

The Australian's an interesting paper - for my two bob, it's the best paper in Australia. Once upon a time, the fin review could hold its own against it, but recently the fin review's taken quite a beating and isn't what it was. There is of course, an unapologetic bias toward libertarian economic principles, but I'm not so sure there's a bias toward parties. For a long time, Howard was the stalwart economic libertarian (though he had many failings, even in this conservative economic endeavour) though Rudd's an able challenger so was given time and credence. Latham, who admittedly had quite open failings, I suspect wouldn't have been given much kindness even if he hadn't displayed overt shortcomings - largely due to his policy agenda.

Murdoch has made no secret of the fact that governments change when he instructs his editors.

Its sad that the owner has such direct influence over the editorial content of the only national newspaper. Because of the tight media owneership and control over newspaper content I like many younger Australians don't buy or read newspapers. We get our news from other sources. We do not have much better access to unbiased news than a citizen in the old Soviet Union.

Good on you Chris C for fighting the good fight!

"not so sure there's a bias toward parties"
Oh come on. Maybe Paul Kelly continues that tradition with a slight rightist bias, but ovoerwhelming content of the paper in terms of editorials, editorial content in articles, op-eds, and political analysis of polling was transparently pro-Liberal. Even when they finally realised Rudd was on a winner, and started writing more neutral articles across the board, they tried to run the line that everything positive that could explain or validate Rudd's political success was really a conservative virtue - and a slap on the wrist for the left.

The idea was:

1. Try to preserve a Coalition majority for Howard by making him and Rudd clones - where experience wins;

2. If that fails, try to salvage some form of populist conservative narrative from amongst the wreckage of what should obviously be a paper caught on the wrong side of a decade of shameless partisanship.

Go to a state reference library and read some back issues of "The Australian"; around March 1984 is really good. At that stage they were praising Saddam Hussein. When peace activists were trying to tell the world about Saddam Hussein’s use of poison gas, they ridiculed it as fake.

First they claimed that it was actually the Iranians dressed up as Iraqis. Their key witness being an Iranian refugee in Paris. (26 March, 1984), which didn't work. So then they used an excuse that it was actually not mustard gas but rather the effects of a giant swarm of defecating South-East Asian honey bees (March 30,p7).

I'm not joking. That is the standard of media "The Australian" is prepared to stoop to in order to promote its ideology.

As a teenager i thought it worth reading, but now wouldn't pay a cent for its entirely predictable RightThink propaganda. I do still read it occasionally (when found discarded) just to laugh at their halfwitted attempts to spin e.g. 'peace and freedom' in Iraq or the 'wisdom' of deregulated markets.

Incidentally, all biographies of Rupert Murdoch have been superceded by the emerging stink over NDS, see Crikey's wrap @ http://tiny.cc/5OxYl. Will RM have to sell The Australian to pay damages, or will he continue to issue editorial instructions from jail? Stay tuned (but not to News Corp).

TurnRightthen Left,

I cannot abide The Australian’s politics, but I agree that it is the best paper in Australia. It is the most comprehensive, has the best international coverage and the greatest focus on real issues. Neither it nor any other newspaper has a captive market today: the internet has given the citizens of the world access to the world, and many of us are using it.

FrankGol and billie,

You have to be tenacious in this environment. When I left teaching, I promised that I would continue to fight for teachers in my Farewell speech: http://pub39.bravenet.com/forum/3280197123/show/618849

The www.platowa.com site is an excellent forum for discussion of education. It is based in WA, but anyone can contribute.

It is appalling that The Australian is so out of touch with reality in our schools. Even worse is its failure to listen to those who know what is real.