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Schools funding policy condemned
Prime Minister John Howard's March 11 announcement of a new federal funding policy for schools was condemned by Greens Senator Kerry Nettle.
"Today's announcement decreases the public schools sector share of Commonwealth spending from 29% to 26%", Senator Nettle said in a March 11 media release.
Nettle argued that this "will put further strain on a public school system struggling to retain a socio-economic cross-section of students under pressure from a generously funded private sector".
She claimed the government's funding approach is driving "increased enrolments in the private school sector", which will "turn public schools into schools for the poor".
The Greens have called for the federal government's funding priorities to be reversed so that "the public school system can offer highest quality education to all students regardless of [their] ability to pay".
Nettle condemned the government's "league table" approach of tying funding to performance, arguing that this entrenches "disadvantage for schools which need assistance not bad publicity".
Nettle added: "Performance-related pay fails to recognise that teaching is fundamentally a collective exercise, not a competitive one. This initiative sets teacher against teacher."
Kerryn Williams
Wilkie demands new inquiry
CANBERRA — "It was surprising that [the parliamentary report into intelligence agencies and the war] was not a complete whitewash, but it was a glancing blow to the government", Andrew Wilkie told a 110-strong public forum, organised by the ACT Network Opposing War, on March 2.
Wilkie, a former Office of National Assessments analyst, said that the government has tried to shift the blame onto the intelligence agencies. "War was not an intelligence position, it was a policy position", he said.
Wilkie demanded a new, open, independent inquiry with broad terms of reference that is headed by someone who understands intelligence.
He reinforced the need for foreign troops to get out of Iraq and for people to remain active against the occupation. He concluded by stating that the anti-war movement is more powerful politically than at any other time in this country's history.
James Vassilopoulos
Manly says YES to refugees.
SYDNEY — Forty people attended a Socialist Alliance refugee-rights forum in Manly on March 8. The forum was chaired by former NSW independent MP Peter McDonald.
Riz Wakil from the Progressive Young Hazaras highlighted the need for permanent visas and Dianne Hiles from ChilOut spoke on the psychological dangers facing children placed illegally in detention.
Rosemary Ashton from Manly Catholics for Social Justice and Socialist Alliance federal Senate candidate John Morris also addressed the meeting.
John Gauci
'What would Che say?'
PERTH — On March 10, more than 30 students attended a Resistance forum at the University of Western Australia titled "What would Che say today?"
Guest speaker and Socialist Alliance member Max Lane encouraged students to get involved in the campaign against the ongoing occupation of Iraq and argued that we need to build a new political movement in Australia.
Resistance has held similar forums on campuses across Australia.
Kiraz Janicke
From Green Left Weekly, March 17, 2004.
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