ABSTRACT
In the mid-1990s the Federal Liberal Government devised the Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment through which funds were directed from public to private schools. Federal funding of both State and private schools was, in this incident, narratively connected with processes of nation building, fiscal equalisation and with rhetorics of redistribution and fairness. chool councils across the state shouldered responsibility for everything from window cleaning to the purchase of new carpets and air-conditioning, right through to the building of substantial sports and performing arts facilities. Rustbelt schools rely not only on government funds; they also depend on getting the school fees from the minority of parents ineligible for government support. The rustbelt schools are part of a Federal funding system which has created resource differences between public and private schools. The fissure between what rustbelt schools can do and what their students both need and deserve is rapidly widening.
