I applaud the notion of allowing former criminals to make the best of their lives. Michael Coutts-Trotter did his time for drug trafficking and the slate is now clean.

In light of the fact that he has no training or qualifications as an educator, a further important question remains unanswered namely..

By what selection process did the NSW State Government appoint this man as the best qualified candidate to be the NSW Director of Public Education?

He may well bring a new vigor to our education system,but does he have the power or energy to change that fundamental bureaucratic psyche of being unsackable and unaccountable?

Morris Iemma has created a new protected species in our state that idles away their hours by creating more regulation for small business to die by.

Why should anyone in the PS have total job security when the rest of us have to fight for every dollar,pay taxes to keep them and lose our income on the whim of a Reserve Bank interest rate rise?

I suppose one of the perceived qualifications is that he has managed to turn his life around quite remarkably. So I suppose he has a bit of life experience in regards to troubled youths.

He apparently, has been working in Government at senior levels for a considerable period of time.

He sounds interesting.

I'd give him a go.

I do wonder if I had a relationship with Rudds right-hand red-haired girl could I end up being a Secretary to a Minister in the next Federal Labour Government some time down the track and what positions will Darcy and Wright be given after they have served their time and wiped the slate clean. Not much different to what we have now in Qld. If this clown was so competent he would be in private enterprise or providing a service to the people he sold his vile filth to who are more than likely long gone and buried but why should he care about the harm he caused, he got into bed with one of the members of one of gangs who run this country. Now we keep this highly paid parasite hanging off the public purse for life.

Young Dan

I think your words are highly emotive and a reflection on your ability to judge objectively or not.

I like the idea of people being able to reform their lives and use that wisdom in public service to support others through policy and governance.

They're the sort of people we need in politics these days. Those with life experience. Both good and bad. Not the minority whose privileged lives have lead them to consider their own achievements are because they are superior type people, rather than fortunate not to have experienced the hardship others have.

Those sort of people make poor policy makers. Those sort of people make inferior policies that impact negatively on others and set others up for disadvantage.

There's no doubt that who you know or who you are married to can open doors. But only so far. He would not have reached this pinnacle height if he didn't have the ability and the confidence of others who put him in this role.

He is spoken well of by those who have known him on a professional level. He is tertiary educated.

By the way, Sophie Mirabella's husband was given a taxpayer funded job. Every Liberal MP in Queensland appears to have once been a member of the Young Liberals. I hardly consider that makes them qualified to be endorsed as an electorate member.

Does that make them a parasite by the way Young Dan?

Committed a crime, done the time. The slate is clear.

There are many examples of people who have turned their lives around and become shining lights in areas that they once were demons.

They are generally much more highly motivated and focussed as a result of their experiences.