EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
I
PRIME MINISTER 4>
FOR MEDIA SATURDAY, MAY 3 1980
ADDRESS TO RIVERVIEW COLLEGE
This is a very special year for Riverview and it is a pleasure
for me to be able to share some small part of it with you.
I am grateful for your invitation.
The celebration of a centenary represents a milestone in any life.
For a school, it offers the chance to reflect how a philosphy
in action has stood the test of time. I know that Riverview
has passed this test with flying colours.
The diversity of your scholastic, cultural and sporting
achievements and the contribution made to community services by
bovs who have felt the influence of Riverview, add each year
to the school's impressive history.
There is a temptation, on occasions such as these, to reflect
how an institution's progress has outstripped the expectations
of its founder. And this is true in many cases. But such a
sentiment in relation to Riverview does poor justice to the
vision that Father Dalton had for this school more than 100 years
ago. Nor does it taken into account the men of learning and care
who have so successfully guided Riverview since the day on
February 12, 1880 when the two Moore boys became the school's
first boarders.
At that time, this beautiful venue was a forbidding environment
for anyone, including someone of Father Dalton's indomitable
faith. But there was one area where, unfortunately, even
Father Dalton's faith could not prevail. He came to Sydney to
establish his new school filled with-the spirit of Australian
nationalism. In Melbourne, he had found Australian rules in
triumphant possession of the football field-He recogni-sed it, even
then, as the Australian game. When he came to* Sydney and found Rugby
f lourishing, he dismissed it as apassing phase. But bef ore the decade
was out, the school magazine was forced to admnit, reluctantly, that
" the days of the gane in New South TWales are numbered."
By 1892 innovation and entertainment died and the game was
discarded. But that was a rare failure for Father Dalton.
His undoubted success was the acquisition of such a grand setting
for a school. His diary sums up the reason for buying this site
When he said,
" The most beautiful situation, commanding a really
grand view completely isolated and central to the
parish ( of North Shore)'.
In different ways, these qualities remain.
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To them, from the beginning, Father Dalton added his conviction
in the value and necessity of Catholic education. But the triumph
that we celebrate today is the product of a long and often bitter
struggle. While no reasonable person today would dare challenge
the right of church schools to their share of public funds; or
challenge our objective to see that, for the poorer schools# that
share should be increased; that was not always the case.
Everbody knows, that for three quarters of a century, the rights
of church schools, and those who attended them, were ignored.
They,, should not today be taken for granted. The challenge to
freedom in education: to the right of parents to educate their
children as they see fit is still with us. But the kind of
spirit that prevails here today; a spirit born of success in the
face of a struggle, is the kind of spirit that will enable the
cause of schools like this to prevail in the future.
Your motto, " Quantum potes tantun aude",
sums up this spirit that has pervaded the educational philosophy
at work in the halls of this college for 100 years. I have had
the privilege to meet and work with many old Ignatians and their
attitudes to life and personal qualities have always impressed me,
I work closely with three of them now. Mr David Connolly, the
% Iember for Bradfield; Mr Stephen Lusher, the Member for Hume;
and Mr Peter Johnson, the Member for Brisbane all attended
Riverview and have carried with them into Parliament the ideals
and values that derive from their school days here at Riverview.
They will appreciate more than most, how much the physical
environment has been further improved since thei4r leaving.
In recent years, your facilities, particularly for the senior
secondary students, have been expanded and in 1972, 1 was
fortunate to be present with you to officially open these
extensions.
At the beginning of a new century in the life of Riverview,
this magnificent school complex reminds us that the present
stature of the college has not been achieved without selflessness,
sacrifice and hard work.
In the years since the war., not only has education become accepted as a right
but increasingly the view gained respect and support, that
governments were failing if some people were denied government
support for education merely because they placed importance on
the value of religion in education. And it was a Liberal government
in the 60' s that made the move towards a more responsible
government approach to non-government schools.
The support for independent schools was timely. When I was
Minister for Education, in the early 701s, retention rates in
secondary schools were rising rapidly; costs were increasing;
and as a result, the pressure and burden upon independent schools
threatened the very future of many of them.
This was a critical time for education, for some schools and
f or government. I rer ember well the issue. we f aced. It was simply,
whether we wanted a country of diversity to be served by diversity
of education; whether a right existed for those with particular
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religious beliefs to establish their own schools; or whether all
education was to be secular and run by the State. I believed
strongly that freedom, independence and choice in education were
essential. The pressure for governments to abandon their neglect of private.
schools had to be met. I do not doubt that great schools like
Riverview would have survived no matter what the circumstances.
But the parish schools placed increasing burdens upon Australian
families to pay for an education based on their commitment. to a
faith.
We should never lose sight of the enormous sacrifice made down
through the years by those who have believed, often against great
odds, in the value and the very existence of religious education.
And let us dismiss now the fallacy that religious education is
synonymous with wealth; that an endorsement of the values of
religious education is an endorsement of the advantages of wealth.
Many Australian families whose incomes are very low make great
sacrifices, are prepared to pursue difficult courses, because
of their faith and their religous beliefs. A centenary offers
us the opportunity to remember and respect the dedication of
these people; parents, old boys and the community at large, who
have entered in different ways into an active service for the
church. For too long their sacrifices were compounded by injustices
created by the denial of government support. The 60' s saw
the beginning of an active programme to restore equality to the
opportunities for education. From initial assistance in support
of building programmes, to the per capita grants and now through
increased support based on a right to education; governments have.
demonstrated their unyielding commitment to a dual system of
education in Australia.
However, as partof the education explosion of the last two
decades, the resource capacity of government schools has increased
dramatically with the result that the gap between non-government
school resources and the average of that available to government
schools continues to be large.
In fact, the resource targe ts set by the Schools Commission have
been so rapidly achieved by government schools that they now
average out, on a 6 point scale, to the second highest point on
the scale.
Whereas 90 per cent of all primary school students and 56 per cent
of all secondary students in the non-government sector attend
schools which are rated, on their resources, as being at the
bottom of the scale; that is amongst the schools which demonstrably
have the greatest resource needs.
To redress this situation, the Government has continued its
funding programme, firmly committed to the principle of edtication
fairness and justice. To do otherwise would be to expect a
widespread private and especially Catholic school system to be
conducted under trying and inferior circumstances. ./ 4
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To allow this to happen would be harmful to the vitality and
potential growth of the entire community. However, some old
resentments still remain, causing problems not only for governments
but also for the education system as a whole.
In 1973, one group took the legitimate but extreme step of
bringing the matter of government aid to non-government schools
before the High Court. The very fact that the case arose has
given concern in some quarters. The Government, like all
litigants, is hopeful of winning, but if that doesn't prove
to be so, we will still remain unshaken in our commitment to
our policies. We believe them to be important for Australia,
Australian education and Australian youth.
We know they are vital for the survival of church schools and
independent schools geeal. We will take whatever steps are
ava~ ilable to us, within the law, which enable our policies
to be pursued. if it is -necessary, we will seek a constitutional amendme~ nt to
enable just*. and proper support to be given to religious and independent institutioi
Equality of oppertunity in education should not be denied in
Australia simply because families place as their highest priority
the determination to preserve their religious faith.
And what happens here at Riverview demonstrates that the
Government's commitment to schools like this, has not been mis-, spent
it is a tribute to you, Father Quin your staff and the whole
school family that the spiritual zeal of the early founders has
brought forth a tradition within the school which finds such
productive expression. of-course, it is the fate of schools arnd
schoolmasters perhaps like Parliaments and politicians, to feel
from time to time that effort is in vain; in the case of education,
that long-term success in the education of our youth is but illusory
An article in the " London Times" in 1858 summed up this educational
dilemma when it said that:
" It was an unresolved problem how public education was
ever effective; how those fierce pasasions are ever tamed;
how the licence of unbridled speech is softened into
courtesy; how lawlessness becomes discipline; how false
morality gives place to a manly sense of right, and all of
this within 2 or 3 years..."
In an obvious reference to the spartan public school life of the
day, the artic le concluded by saying:
" Parents may well abstain from looking too closely at
the process and content themselves with the result."
Today, the process and the result; the means and the end; are
both important in education.
Your enrolments indicate that what goes on at schools like
Riverview is being perceived by the community as providing an
adequate response to the demands of a modern, industrial society
and the new educational realities.
Part of this adequate response involves an active interest in,
and a positive contribution by, parents to the education of their
children. There is a tendency sometimes for parents to transfer
their responsibilities to schools and to teachers. Yet the
family will always be the model for a child's learning, And
issues directly affecting children cannot be resolved satisfactorily
without full and proper consultation with parents.
That is why'involvement by parents in the education process,
which affects what is done inside and outside the classroom,
is crucial to a child's transition from adolescence to adulthood.
I know that Riverview has a long and proud tradition of parental
involvement and support, and your parent-school movement has won
approval in the wider Australian education community. Through
this kind of support a strong relationship develops between
what happens in the home and what happens at school.
And this fosters confidence and security in young people. This
is important when young people face the certainty of change And
a future which will often be challengaing'and demanding.
How much more'important then, it is, that education itself, in
the preparation of young people for the future, offers diversity
and choice. That is why there is an important place for an
educational tradition of the kind that is exemplified here.
For centuries, the Jesuit order has demonstrated a successful
capacity for adapting to changing circumstances by providing
a spiritual and moral base for young people and by demonstrating
an act of concern for the higher development of intellectual
attainment.
Young people today are indeed fortunate to enjoy the values,
opportunities and the discipline, provided by this kind of
education. But they mast also seize these opportunities; not
because someone is trying to make them achieve, but rather
because they themselves want to.
The celebration of 100 years is something which rightly evokes
nostalgia and pride when we reflect with * thanks upon the
achievements of the past. But it also provides a stimulus.
to re-dedicate ourselves to the successes of the next 100 years.
If, in this period, boys of Riverview avail themselves of the
opportunities that lie before them, then they face a future in
which they will be truly free; free for work and leisure, for
being something as well as doing something. I know it is the
hope of us all*, that each St. Ignatius boy will learn to sense
the worth and dignity of others; will feel his debt to others,
and will have commitments commitments to causes and concerns
he ha-s thought about and made his own.
We want him too, because he owes something to the world, to be
prepared for a life of service to something beyond himself.
To hope that these aims are fulfilled is not too much.
To the whole Riverview family, I urge that you value your
educational independence; strive to keep St. Ignatius College
in the vanguard of educational achievement. 9./ 6
6
I thank Father Quin for his invitation to attend these
celebrations. You have more cause for optimism about your
future, than surely confronted Father Dalton 100 years ago.
May the courage, commitment and vision which has brought
Riverview so far since then, continue to motivate and inform
those who now take up the challenge of the next 100 years.