The real reason the Alternative Liberal Party backs chaplains in schools has nothing to do with any coherent policy platform other than simple vote-buying. I don't think the ALP has been seriously troubled by anything based purely on principle for a decade or two!

Yes! .. I agree whole-heartedly. Religious corporations are rich landowners, and use public money for political lobbying that benefits themselves. Public money is funding organisations such as the Exclusive Bretheren and Scientology(?) & other groups AGAINST the wishes of most Australians. It must stop.. it makes fools of the Australian Federal Government and Australians.

Yet chaplains do not evangelise. They are not able to.

It is not them that openly do this but they associate with a church and then use peer pressure with the other students to push the one not going to religious instruction to go. They push that person outside the class. There are dozens of reports of older students picking on non religious students for not believing in their god. Religion divides people by their parents religion. Just look at Northern Ireland to know what it can do. In public schools it should not be there, what then are churches for? They have students telling other students they are going to hell.

Pete Sanderson: they may not "be allowed to evangelise". Unfortunately the convincing anecdotal evidence is that they ignore this routinely. Religion should be a matter of choice for adults. It is child abuse to inflict it on minors.

How absurd. I never learnt a thing from my "religious education" chaplain except a smattering of Christian dogma and bible verses. Confusing children's minds with religious nonsense, filling them with shame and fear of hell is not "much needed work", nor is it something a secular government should spend money on - leave that kind of thing to the parents.

Well, Pete, since evangelizing is the only thing chaplains are qualified to do, what the hell are they doing in schools then? Social workers, psychologists and qualified counselors are the people who should be doing the work these purveyors of iron age nonsense claim to be doing.

By there mere holier than thou presence...by promoting 'camps' services etc they will fish those little ones with highly suggestible minds. Scripture Union stays, but science and climate change is denied! The current activities of Queensland Govt is an example.