Vantage Point is the new essay series from Australia Institute Press. Long enough for an in-depth exploration of some of the most stubborn problems of the day, these essays are also short enough to read in a sitting or two.

Subscribe today and receive Issue 5, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The battle for public education, when it is published on 5 May.

For decades, Australia has been pumping money into private education while public schools struggle. Whether it’s crumbling classrooms, overworked teachers or cuts to music and STEM programs, the system is reaching breaking point. At the same time, with higher rates of private school attendance and the marketisation of education, parents have increased anxiety when faced with the decision of where to send their child. The current system contributes to greater inequity, decreased integration of different communities and even traffic jams as parents are more likely to drive their kids to a private school further from their house.

How did we get here?

Jane Caro walks through the decades of policy decisions that have created this situation and identifies the choices that have created the current education crisis. With her trademark no-nonsense analysis and drawing from her personal experiences, Caro lays out the steps that brought us to this point and what Australia can do to get a public education system worthy of such a wealthy country.

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