Why would you give a Gonski?

Assuming the cost-to-enrollment increases are in the ballpark (which I admit to grossly over-estimating as I believe that it is possible to achieve an increase of 10% enrolment in independent schools for far less than a 20% increase in per-child funding) we would see a yearly savings of $50million in education in NSW. To break-even this could then be put directly back into public schools, targeting those most in need and increasing the per-student spending in the most disadvantaged areas. This targeted increase would then also go further as there are 100 000 students less to spread it over. Public schools then can be focused on providing the best possible education with smaller class sizes (due to fewer enrolments) and an increase in per-student funding, all without adding aditional costs to the education budget

This model makes a mockery of the Gonski review calls for an increase of $5Billion in public education funding at the expense of private institutions. The only possible rationale for seeking to reduce funding to independent schools is if you have an ideological prejudice against them. It is this ideological prejudice that is in actual fact at play. The NSW Department of Education and Communities, henceforth referred to as DEC (formerly Education and Training - DET) is heavily populated by members of the NSW Teachers Federation; this union states as its first two ethical standards:

1. Teachers and other educational personnel employed in any area of public education should be members of the New South Wales Teachers Federation and uphold Federation's policy.

2. Members should aim to improve the working conditions of all Federation members.

As you can see it is the goal of this union to have all personnel employed in any area of public education to be members of the union, that include maintenance and support staff as well as educators. It is then upon all members of the union to improve the working conditions (historically this means renumeration) for all other members. Independent schools, however, are not beholden to the Teachers Federation. Their principals have far greater autonomy to hire and fire staff and to seek the most economical option for maintenance and support. The opposition to independent schools is not one of economics but rather one of ideology. If independent schools were to have a higher proportion of students enrolled at them then the Teachers Federation would have absolute power over fewer schools to ensure that only union affiliated people could be employed at them. The Gonski review is a pro-union, anti-independent article which seeks to increase public sector expendature at the expense of sane economics and if implemented will lower the educational outcomes for all students in public education.