Jane Caro is an accomplished Australian author, broadcaster, documentary maker, and social commentator. A Walkley Award winner, Caro has penned two best-selling novels and is frequently featured on the ABC show, "The Gruen Transfer". She is a passionate advocate for public education in Australia and critic of the funding disparities between public and private schools. Her career spans across various media, where she showcases her expertise and fervor for equitable education systems.

Key Points:

• Jane Caro critiques the significant funding gap between public and private schools in Australia, calling for an alignment of support with students' needs, rather than parental choice.
• The episode discusses the inequalities perpetuated by a neoliberal funding system, which often leaves public schools under-resourced while private schools thrive on public money.
• Caro suggests that a cohesive, inclusive education system benefits society as a whole, enhancing societal prosperity, equality, and overall well-being.
• The dialogue explores potential solutions such as revising funding models, promoting public school enrollment, and enacting policy changes that ensure fair access to quality education for all students.
• Caro emphasises the detrimental impacts of educational segregation, advocating for a more comprehensive and equitable approach to school funding.

Notable Quotes:

1. "It's bizarre. I mean, it's the same way we tax university students for their degrees more than we tax the fossil fuel industry."
2. "Basically, successive…governments have used education funding to reward the parents they approve of and punish the parents they don't approve of."
3. "If you can afford, send your child to a private school, and agitate to change the funding."
4. "Public schools remain comprehensive schools, so they tend to enroll the community's entire range. Those schools tend to do better academically."
5. "My sympathy for, oh, my kid was in a hard position. Yes, I get it, but what's the public good?"

Resources:

• Jane Caro's Book: "The Stupid Country: How Australia is Dismantling Public Education."