To date, nearly half a billion taxpayers’ dollars have been committed to fund the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP). This program, cynically conceived as a means of securing the ‘Christian’ vote, was instituted by the Howard government in 2006 and extended substantially by the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments.
The NSCP puts largely unqualified, religious practitioners into our secular public schools at a time when the ratio of students to qualified counsellors is pitifully low – e.g. 1:2500 in the Northern Territory, 1:1800 in Tasmania, 1:1300 in Queensland, and 1:1050 in New South Wales.
Officially, chaplains are not permitted to provide counselling, but they freely admit to providing ‘high level pastoral care’ and boast of working with children with serious psychological issues – e.g:
“At the moment… in the last week I’ve got two grade 5 kids on suicide watch”
- Access Ministries chaplain, 2009
The Australian Psychology Society says there is ‘clear evidence that school chaplains are engaging in duties for which they are not qualified’ and that this amounts to ‘dangerous professional behaviour’.
A broader concern is that placing religious (overwhelmingly Christian) operatives in state schools discriminates against children from non-Christian and non-religious families and represents an assault upon the right of all Australian children to a secular (religion neutral) public education system. Further, it is alleged that the method in which the National School Chaplaincy Program is funded breaches the Australian constitution. This matter is to be heard in the High Court later this year – costing even more public money!
If you oppose the expenditure of hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on a scheme which short-changes our children, exposes them to unqualified, religious evangelists, and undermines their right to a secular public education, please use this site to register your objection with Prime Minister Gillard and Education Minister Peter Garrett.