Angry Niven: May offend some readers. One of my pet hates is Rich Private Schools.
And nothing makes me madder than taxpayers money – thats the money that is primarily paid by the working class – getting given to large private schools. Now, even I have come to accept the importance of independant schools in australian schooling -however, when you look at Kings School with 17 football fields, a riflerange, a boat shed and a GODDAMN MUSEUM – then think that taxpayers money is going towards that – well, my blood boils. Especially when Government schools scrape buy with 30yr old textbooks.
How can ANYONE justify this? Parents who are wealthy enough to pay such fees send their kids there – and taxpayers money isn’t used to ensure a proper education, its used to pretty up gardens, pay the greenkeepers, the archivers etc etc. Education Minister Brendan Nelson (who incidently is an old King’s Boy), says that they need to be financially supported to give paretns a choice. That doesn’t even come close to making sense. And what drives me NUTS is this idea he keeps saying, that some parents make “great sacrifices to send their kids to Private schools”. By inference, rich parents are better parents than those less well off, or those who believe in a true rounded education, because they fork out fees for their kids to have a fancy uniform and be insulated from the real world? Thats just bloody insulting.
Labor is now reducing funding to these top end schools (67 nationally), to rechannel into smaller independant schools, and FINALLY, Government Schools. Some people don’t seem to understand that PRIVATE SCHOOL = PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC SCHOOL = GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY.
I don’t usually get irrationally angry about political issues, at least when i’m writing, but this is one thing that I blow my top about. So you know what, Brendan Nelson: FUCK YOU! And while i’m at it, any elitist Private School Weenies who think they’re ENTITLED to Government Funding: FUCK YOU TOO!
Oh, in other news, Labor has comitted $100 Million to the ABfrigginC (to borrow an old Backbernerism), as well as boosts to the Australian Film Industry