During the sixties and seventies, Australia discovered making free money by selling all our previously held government assets. Government insurances, the post and telegraph, banks, anything that could be sold, electricity, water , you name it and it would turn a dollar . And that wasn’t enough. It was followed by selling the ground underneath us. There were more riches to be made, oil, gas, iron ore, silver gold, coal uranium, titanium and now the richest of them all, lithium.
But what happened to all that money? Where is it now?
Here it is.
1 Gina Rhinehart (mining) $32.64 billion.
2Andrew Forrest (mining) $31.77 billion.
3 Clive Palmer (mining) $ 18.35 Billion.
4 Ivan Glasenberg (mining) $9,10 Billion.
With a looming economic recession rapidly coming over the horizon one wonders if all that wealth in just a few hands could have been better spent or, saved for a rainy day!. Look at the level of run down public hospitals and public education. The paltry salaries teachers and nurses earn? When was the last time a new hospital was build, a new school, a police station? There are voices calling for nationalizing our resources. They should never have been sold.
Even our public education is being sold and privatized. Almost 40% of school children now attend private or independent schools, one of the highest rates n the world. Why, for heaven’s sake? Education should be good for all of our children, not that private schools have a better vision of what education actually means. They just nurture separation and inequality.
Why Australia should ban private schools & More News Here
UNICEF has ranked Australia 39 out of 41 high and middle income countries on our level of education. This is extremely serious for our growing population. Only Romania and Turkey were ranked below Australia in education in the latest United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report card. Finland, of course came number 1 and Malta 2.
Oosterman Treats Blog 
June 24, 2022 at 11:45 pm |
I am constantly furious about the amount of money given to private schools which already have all they want and more than they need. The principal of Kings is having a plunge pool installed at the public’s expense, for example. Private schools received Jobkeeper when it was available, and yet children still went to school and parents still paid fees, so I don’t understand why they needed it, and of course there’s no giving it back now. (Like Gerry Harvey).
As to privatisation, it seems as soon as that happens services seem to go rapidly downhill and there doesn’t seem to be as much accountability.
There’s plenty of money in this country, but it’s going to the wrong places/people.
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June 26, 2022 at 4:18 am |
Yes, James I read about that plunge pool and the headmaster’s salary at $ 500.000.-. How ridiculous. How can parents not see the absurdness of an education that so differentiates between the haves and have nots?
I seems totally at odds with what education is about. Private schools are about un-education.
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June 25, 2022 at 2:45 am |
Reblogged this on AuntyUta and commented:
Oh, Gerard, all this is endlessly upsetting!
We should really all be thinking about it where we could do better. Despite all of it, I have hope that in future Australia may be doing better. Somehow I have the feeling that a lot of changes are going to come! 🙂
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June 26, 2022 at 4:23 am |
I hope you are right, Uta. I have my doubts about undoing private education. We are not Finland and more like the UK. Staunch supporters of the status quo.
Perhaps I am a bit of a Jerimiah in my old age.
Although, a strong woman might be able to turn things around. Someone of the Elizabeth Farrelly’s caliber.
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June 26, 2022 at 10:59 am |
https://elizabethfarrelly.net/
Is this the one you’re thinking of, Gerard?
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June 26, 2022 at 11:02 am
Yes, that’s her. Gerard
Sent from my iPhone
>
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June 25, 2022 at 3:46 am |
So important to support our public schools.
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June 26, 2022 at 4:25 am |
Yes Peggy, and that’s the best way to overcome our educational stagnation.
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June 25, 2022 at 6:22 am |
I think the selling off of government assets was later than the 60’s and 70’s, more like the late 80’s and 90’s. It accelerated under Howard.
On priiivate schools though, Howard changed how the funding of schools was undertaken. I have no problem with these private education companies existing, I have a problem with public money funding them. The taxpayer should not be funding them at all. It was the Greiner goverment with Metherall as Education Minister that started the rot with teachers salaries and the lack of respect.
My late father in law was a Principal at a country high school in WA, he enjoyed it very much, it started to change though, the last straw for him was when a student was to be suspended the parents turned up with their Lawyer, that was late 1984. He retired not long after as a result to the community lost a well respected Principal which took a while to replace
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June 26, 2022 at 4:34 am |
Yes, it seems so old fashioned to have private education as if taking private piano or swimming lessons. I have a problem with fees charged to parents to educate children. Education is a right not a privilege. If private schools are allowed they should not charge fees to parents, not have pools, race tracks, tennis courts, recording studios, poker machines or head masters on $500.000.-.
Take away their school identifying uniforms and see how the parents will desert private schools.
It is all so silly and pretentious.
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