Private school furore over Constitutional challenge

By Maree O’Halloran

The mere threat of a constitutional challenge to government funding of private schools has caused a furore among supporters of private schools.

Federation is seeking legal advice about the potential for a new challenge to the Constitution over government funding of private schools, following a decision at Annual Conference.

The debate has shifted from flagpoles to funding and teacher unionists must keep it there.

A universal, secular and free public education system is of great value to society. Our schools are not sectarian and few private schools operate with less resources than their neighbouring public schools.

One aim of this challenge is to test the values of the Howard Federal Government against the values in the Australian Constitution. Another is to raise a question for public debate: what has changed since the 1981 DOGS [Defence of Government Schools] case?

These changes include:

1.The huge increase in direct federal funding of private schools vis-à-vis public schools.
2.The increase in the number and types of private schools funded by government.
3.The decision of the Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (a court with Supreme Court status) in the Catholic Teachers salary case. At paragraph 108, page 48 of that decision, the Commission quoted from the Agreed Statement of Facts between the Independent Education Union and the Catholic Employers. That paragraph states: "108 Principals and those in leadership positions within a Catholic school community are required to uphold the mission of the Catholic Church and to build the faith community. This derives from the transfer of leadership from religious congregations to lay leadership within the church. It requires such leaders to have imbued themselves with the spirit and reform of the church consistent with the Vatican 11 Council. The importance of principals in particular, in the renewal of the church cannot be over-stated. In providing education form a Catholic world view, the incorporation of the mission and values of the church becomes the primary responsibility of the principal and those in other leadership positions."

That Agreed Statement of Facts also acknowledges that 80 per cent of the wages bill in Catholic schools is funded by government.

In 2001 Anglican Archbishop Peter Hollingworth said private schools had an "ideal opportunity" to construct new allegiances to the church. (The Age, April 19, 2001)

It would appear that the authors of these statements have forgotten that in the "DOGS case" religious school advocates argued that there was a clear separation of religion and education.

Maree O'Halloran is the President.

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