DOGS request citizens to ponder the nature of appointments made by ALP governments to key positions in recent years.

DOGS research into the outcomes of different types of schools reveals the following:

Approximately One in four of the Australian Population are listed in official documents as 'Roman Catholic/Catholic'. On the law of averages you would expect one in four of the appointments to key positions in government, legal  and administrative offices to be from this sector of the society.

If Australian citizens believed the ALP's federal government propaganda, they would expect this normal distribution. Given that the ALP federal government has established a 'Social Inclusion' Board that is supposed to be about 'social inclusion' and a 'stronger, fairer, Australia.' According to their propaganda, the Rudd Government believes that :

'All Australians need to be able to play a full role in all aspects of Australian life.

Wonderful sentiments but why the need for such a Board when the State Education systems are already open to all children, parents, teachers etc.

On the basis of this belief, citizens should be able to expect job positions, particularly those in positions of influence and power, to reflect some sort of religious/educational pattern. One would expect  at least two in three and even three in four  appointments to be graduates from the State system, which is is open to all children, including those of Roman Catholic faith.

But consider the backgrounds of the following appointments by the federal and Victorian governments together with appointments of the last three High Court Chief Justices.

Rudd Government Appointments:

 Heads of 'Social Inclusion Board':

As noted above, the Rudd Government set up a 'Social Inclusion Board' in 2008  with Ms Patricia Faulkner as Chair and Monsignor David Cappo as Vice-Chair. Both the above appointments are graduates of the Roman Catholic Education system and David Cappo is a cleric in that institution. The politician immediately involved with this group is an Ursula Stephens also a product of a sectarian religious school.

National Human Rights Consultation:

Towards the end of 2008 the federal ALP government set up a national Human Rights consultation with Father Frank Brennan, SJ as Chair. Chairman Brennan is a Jesuit priest and a graduate from the Roman Catholic education system.

Connection with Jesuit Social Services:

What is the statistical chance that both Patricia Faulkner, head of the 'Social Inclusion Board' and Father Frank Brennan, SJ, Chair of the National Human Rights Consultation would be on the Board of the Jesuit Social Services at the same time as their appointments to the above federal ALP positions? Whatever the statistical probability, they are there together.

Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission:

The Victorian ALP Government has recently established a Royal Bushfires Commission in February 2009. Three Commissioners were appointed:

• Bernard Teague

• Susan Pascoe and

• Ron McLeod

What is the statistical chance that the three Commissioners are products of a sectarian religious system or a convert to the same institution? Whatever the statistical probability, this is the case.

Bernard Teague is a graduate of De La Salle College, Malvern Victoria; Susan Pascoe is a graduate of Loreto College, Ballarat Victoria, and was formerly Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria 2003-2006; Director of the Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Melbourne 2003-06; and on the Senate of the Australian Catholic University since 2001.

Ron McLeod was a graduate of Melbourne High School who, when last contacted, had converted to Roman Catholicism.

Last Three Chief Justices of the Australian High Court:

Of the last three High Court Justices, one was appointed by Keating, one by Howard, and one by Rudd. They were :

• Sir Gerard Brennan, Chief Justice 1995-1998

• Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice 1998-2008 and

• Robert French Chief Justice 2008 -

What are the statistical possibilities that all of these Chief Justices in a row are graduates of a particular sectarian religious system ? Once again, whatever the statistical probability, this is the case. Sir Gerard Brennan is a graduate of  Christian Brothers College, Rockhampton and Downlands College Toowoomba; Murray Gleeson was educated at Marist Brothers, St. Josephs' College, Hunters Hill. Robert French was educated at a Jesuit school, St Louis in Western Australia. ( See DOGS Press Release 261 at www.adogs.info/pr261.htm .)

How Come?

The competency of the above people for the jobs to which they have been appointed is not in question. The question is : How is it possible that there is such a skewed distribution in the religious background of key appointments in the Australian political system? How is it possible for ten out of the ten key positions mentioned above to be so blatantly skewed in this fashion?

It is no use to scream out the  blanket invective of  'anti-Catholic' and 'sectarian' as an answer to the above question. The fact of the matter is that if such a thing is possible, something is amiss in what was once a Liberal democratic society which prided itself on genuine tolerance and dissent.

 Why, When and How?

How is it possible that three quarters of the Australian population who are not graduates of particular religious schools or adhere to a particular faith are considered unfit for key political, administrative and legal positions in the Australian political framework? Why is it that graduates of the State school system appear to be excluded from these and many other appointments?

DOGS do not have all the answers to the above questions. We are not on the information highway necessary to know what is really going on. But we note the blatant and continual discrimination against graduates of public schools in the corridors of power, and sense that all is not well in the State of Australia. Citizens and taxpayers, confronted with a fracturing of our society and the breakdown of trust in our political and financial institutions, should be asking the following question:

To what extent has the political bureaucracy been captured by networks?

To what extent have our democratic checks and balances been destroyed?

To what extent has real accountability and transparency for the expenditure of public moneys been undermined and lost?

DOGS suggest it is time to put together a few concepts:

Old School Networks

The Cancer in our Body Politic and

The New as well as the Old Establishment

DOGS are also reminded of the message from our Founding Fathers, Parkes, Barton and Inglis Clark. They warned us that State Aid to religious institutions endowed and strengthened  a State within the State.

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