Michael Richardson acknowledges that not all student organisations are perfect but explains why the federal government's proposed Voluntary Student Unionism Legislation goes too far

Ian McAuley states 'When governments encourage or force the better-off to opt out they talk about choice, but, far from extending our choice, we are denied choice - in this case the choice of using a public school. The same extends to health care and beyond.'

Don Aitkin argues that our schools and the way we construct them, with winners and losers defined largely in terms of the child's upbringing, are contributing to the problem. We can make them part of the solution. But to do so we first have to get rid of the odious notion that somehow parents have the right of 'choice'.