ABSTRACT
Themes on the allocation of resources have moved to centre stage in the unfolding drama of public and private education in Australia. School education is constitutionally the responsibility of states through their ministers of education, who are responsible for the provision of schooling to all students of school age. The requirement that students attend their nearest school has been waived in most states in favour of a policy of de-zoning and parental and student choice. The balance of contention among these values is evident in the themes outlined, especially those that concern the allocation of resources to schools and within schools. The major impetus for change came in the 1960s and early 1970s when a variety of political and social forces led to the intervention of the Commonwealth government in school education. The charter is a key element in the Schools of the Future reform in Victoria.
