I think we are getting off the track. The point I tried to make is that the Government has legislated to remove the rights of parents to rear their children & then talks about holding the parents responsible for whatever the children do wrong. To put it into simpler terms:- It is illegal for a parent to force a child to go to school, but the same stupid Government wants to hold the parent responsible for the child not going to school.

The worst of this is that parents have allowed this legislation to exist.

Actually it was the Hawke Labor government that signed away the rights of the parents when without any debate or public scrutiny they signed Australia up to the left wing organisation for the destruction of the western world and punishment of the colonists of the third world called The United Nations.



Treaty is The Rights of the Child and under it by signing up Oz parents lost all rights to discipline their own children. Governments won the right to pay a child running away from home allowance at age 14 and the child the right to 'divorce' said parents same age.



Beloved by all left wing socialists who patronise those of us who think the child is more important than their dogma and then go on to demonize anyone who tries to reverse their social engineering.

Most of these inhabit the Labor party since the Communist party was banned and Academe is infested with left wingers teaching the communist dogma.



Which is why so many students are radical until such time as they get out in the workplace and start contributing to the income tax pool and paying their way and many grow out of it once the mortgage payments kick in and kiddies arrive on the scene.



Just another reason why 16 and 17 yr olds still at school should not be given the vote as the Labor Party is intent on doing - since they know that at that age in public schools they have voters for their party close to 100%. if anything whilst the school leaving age remains so old at 18 then to get it back into kilter with yesteryear when leaving age was 14 all ages for voting drinking driving and being able to enter into a contract should go up to at least 21 or even older. think how many young lives are being lost to driving under the influence in their own cars with a car load of other teens because they can do this whilst stil immature school kids in experience.



Even today in 2009 many parents have no idea how this loss of their rights happened. We still have them on TV saying they didn't know even thought their kids come home telling Mum and Dad of their 'rights' as taught - the right also of course to get the single mums pension at age 14 or even younger which encourages young girls to keep the baby give up school and live on welfare.



I well remember a bloke losing is rag when he came into the office one day telling us in around 1988 that his son aged 14 had been told by a social worker who came to lecture the children on their "rights" under this treaty and he told his Dad he was divorcing him and mum and leaving home to live with his mates who were doing the same. they planned to get a place to rent with an older sibling and live it up.



That was when I first heard of this and since then have realized it is the beginnings of the mess we are now in today with teens and their parents with babies who have no self discipline because they too never had their backsides paddled or back of the legs slapped for being naughty the day they stamped their little foot in defiance to see just how far they could stretch their perimeters! Instead parents are told to talk to a tiny defiant figure of a toddler who just wants his own way and will try temper tantrums and such like to get it - which is when the teaching of discipline starts.



Political correctness is a communist dogma designed to create a dysfunctional family unit so that the children are malleable to being taught to do things the way the communists want. Which is ignore parents, teachers and any authority figures and question all rules and do it how they think is right.



It has been taught in our schools for what - 2 decades and we are feeling the outcome right now and it can only get worse.



All in all many of our problems today originate in political correctness dogma and social engineering and we certainly have heaps more dysfunctional families then back when I was young and got my backside whacked for being naughty - not hard but enough. At school the Nuns would slap us on the back of the legs and I started school a week before my 3rd birthday and a year younger than usual due to WW2 but even then was eligible to leave after 12 years of schooling at 15.



How on earth have we let them creep the starting age up to 6 in many cases and still at school at 18 and then a gap year and on to Uni so well into their twenties by time they get to earn a living and pay their own way. And until recently no hope of getting a job much past 45! Even though the Age Discrimination Act 2004 brought in by Peter Costello is legal no one polices it. Check the ads for jobs should say up to age 65 not age 35 or whatever!!!!

The school leaving age--although they can leave at 16 now--but most go to the end 18 or 19--in my opinion far to old UNLESS they want to be a Dr or such--what the hell do they need Uni for--I worked in some very good jobs and I left at 15 you sure don't need a Uni educ' for an office job and many I know that did go to Uni and have passed their fields are working in jobs that I did--one is working in a car wash--this going to school till they are almost ready to retire --it keeps the jobless figures down--and as far as having a year "off" what bloody rubbish. What is wrong with leaving at 15 and going on to tech or such as we did?

The place is going to hell in a hand basket !

Quite agree PB - but it would still be better for all if they went back to starting school at age 4 instead of 6. then 10 years and out to work at 14 or TAFE getting skills in trades.



Problem started in Hawke years when because so many Labor MPs were Uni graduates they got all snotty about anyone going to TAFE as being 'beneath them" seemingly. It was trendy to go to Uni and get free education for all.



Now today the trades are doing heaps better then many a Uni graduate and are the new yuppies - good on em!



Problem for employers is they lowered the bench marks for Uni degrees so that all those overseas students can come in as well as others who wouldn't get in on old standards which is why the employers are often heard saying they cant do the job and the degree is not worth as much.



Same as Uni's having to teach English grammar, comprehension even to new students from public schools - and state governments all kid themselves they are improving education.



Whilst parents who can scrimp and scrap to send their kids to private fee paying schools so that they can read write and leave literate.



Same old same old - left wing pc nonsense - every one has to be on one level cant have anyone being batter or more intelligent than the next now can we - banging head on wall.......



We used to have streaming at schools so everyone was in with the similar IQ level ( A,B,C & D) and had a chance to be top of the class and the quicker ones didn't get bored and play up because the slower ones took the teachers attention etc but that lowered the self esteemsaid the pc mob of social engineers - well I reckon today leaving semi illiterate is much worse than being in D stream.

I agree Val--the Uni thing is just seen to be "COOL" these days and really doesn't mean a thing.