In this weekend's Sydney Morning Herald, David Marr had a story worth reading.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/chaplains-in-schools-are-inadequately-supervised-20101231-19bzr.html

"Chaplains in schools are 'inadequately supervised'" blurted the headline.

"THE schools chaplaincy program is being investigated by the Commonwealth Ombudsman after a highly critical report of its operation in the Northern Territory. At the same time, a High Court challenge has been launched by critics of the scheme to which successive federal governments have committed $437 million."

And what a story it is. The NT Ombudsman has investigated the Howard-Rudd-Gillard supported NSCP (school chaplains) scheme, and found it wanting. As a result, the Commonwealth Ombudsman is now investigating DEEWR, Gillard's department of old, now Garrett's.

It looks as if Garrett may well be lumbered (again) with being the fall guy for incompetent policy design.

Nearly $500million has been thrown into the scheme, and yet there has been absolutely no credible research on the need for it, prior to 2006, or now, four years later.

When we learn more, it will not be a great shock to be reading that the NSCP is just another BER or 'insulation' scam, but this time, one that has been supported by both sides of politics.

It's time for Bob Brown and the lower house independents to start asking a few pointed questions.

The NT report can be found here:
http://www.ombudsman.nt.gov.au/publications-reports/public-reports/

TBC:
<It looks as if Garrett may well be lumbered (again) with being the fall guy for incompetent policy design>

Well actually, being himself a committed Christian (though one the conservative Christians would no doubt prefer to disown), I think Garret is ripe for the picking. He may be innocent on bats, but when it comes to the batty he's as guilty as sin!

And when it comes to supervision of chaplains, in my experience half the teaching staff are Christians; who supervises them!

Actually, school chaplaincies might merely be considered (expensive!) sinecures since they have little practical impact; but they do work hard at proselytising! Indeed that's their main function: grooming. And raking in the doe for their masters--not just the hundres of millions of ATO dollars, mind you, but anything they can get their greasy hands on. The gold coin garnered from free-dress days, for instance, goes straight to the churches coffers!

This is an important issue that speaks to how our country is run; by church or state? For far too long it's been both, albeit insidious, and the modern mainstream church's are as complacent as the pre-reformation high Catholics!
I say "get thee hence, yea vipers! Go sell your wares elsewhere!"

Indeedy Squeers, who does run the nation-state?

Well, Pell says he doesn't, when he tells his 'Captain Catholics' how they should vote, but General Jimbo from the ACL certainly looked as if Julia, the Baptist-Salvo-atheist, got the message when he 'interviewed' her for the job of PM, and she later gave him and his ilk another 1000 of these largely unqualified (in any meaningful sense of the word) evangelisers to fill our non-secular public schools.

Now, when you say there is no 'evidence' you are overlooking the 'research' done at Edith Cowan Uni, paid for by the employers of chaplains, that tells us how good they really are.

Do you perhaps not trust such research as being objective, honest and fair?

Because Julia and Chris Pyne both quote the 'research' as 'proof'.

As Tim Mander said on Sunrise, 'The proof is in the pudding'.

No doubt he was referring to The Magic Pudding we know of as the NSCP funding.

Just found a Facebook page for the High Court challenge fellow.

This is serious stuff, just look who is being given a summons:

• Commonwealth of Australia
• Minister for School Education Childhood and Youth
• Minister for Finance and Deregulation
• Scripture Union Queensland

So, the PM, a Baptist and Salvo supporting 'atheist', a fundie Peter Garrett and a fundie Penny Wong plus the entire Scripture Union Qld.

Fantastic stuff!

They'll all be crying tears of upset at the challenge, but SU will be fighting like a cornered cat to keep the millions of ATO dollars that flow to it from our hip pockets.

Abbot spoke of a "guided democracy".

Guided by who?

*his* church?, *yours*?

Rusty

I agree TBC, there are snouts in the trough over this one, and the benefits dubious.