Australia has far more private schools than most other countries in the OECD,so it is not surprising we spend more money on them.
This week’s Melbourne Writers Festival will hope to capture the same success as the Sorrento Writers Festival held last month.
Whether it is Scottish castle libraries,plunge pools,executive trips to Henley regattas or the latest comparison between the obscene amount of money spent by a few private schools on capital works and entire state school funding,it is clear that the current funding model is failing students.
About $1.3 billion,or a quarter of all overfunding for private schools,is flowing to those where family income exceeds $200,000 a year. See the schools here.
States have rejected millions of dollars in extra Commonwealth money for public schools as they push for twice as much cash as WA agreed to.
Coalition-era loopholes let the states underfund public schools,leaving them a long way off Gonski minimum standards - and Victoria is one of the worst.
The eye-watering amounts paid to key personnel to run some of Sydney’s more expensive private schools shows that they not only pay top dollar,but have evolved into very flash successful entities.
UNSW chancellor David Gonski,whom Dominic Perrottet consulted on the scheme before it was finalised,demurred when asked whether it should be means tested.
The business veteran says corporations have more scope to support community initiatives linked to the company’s purpose,instead of only serving shareholders.
Ten years in the vision and three years in the building,all that remains to be completed for the Art Gallery of NSW’s new wing is landscaping,exterior works and internal fit-outs.
A Machiavellian plan to stop women joining the elite all-male club has led to broken friendships,high-profile resignations and divisions that have rippled across legal,business and political circles.