Catholic schools lobby parents in key seats over funding

In the western Victorian seat of Wannon, a letter sent by one of the leading Catholic schools in the electorate, Monivae College, praises current Liberal MP Dan Tehan as a “strong supporter of Catholic education for many years” and a former education minister who delivered “fairer and more equitable funding” to low-fee Catholic schools.

The same letter claims the VCEA wrote to independent candidate Alex Dyson to enquire about his support for Catholic schools and received no response. Dyson, who is mounting a serious challenge to Tehan in the previously safe seat, said he was given no opportunity to meet with the VCEA before they wrote to school parents.

“When local parents started to receive letters from the VCEA, I sent letters to principals of Catholic schools in Wannon to clarify my position,” Dyson said. “I’m the child of two parents who taught in Catholic schools across Wannon, including Monivae College. I understand how vital educational choice is for families in Wannon.”

The VCEA this week issued a clarifying letter noting Dyson had “recently indicated his support for the current funding model for Catholic schools”.

Independent candidate for Monash Deborah Leonard said her position was similarly misrepresented. “They never asked me for my position on funding for Catholic schools,” she told this masthead. “If they had, I would have told them I support continued funding for Catholic schools.”

Leonard claimed a letter sent to school parents in Monash, where disendorsed Liberal MP Russell Broadbent is leading a crowded field of candidates, carried a clear endorsement of the Coalition parties.

In Goldstein, independent MP Zoe Daniel said she made clear her support for current funding arrangements for Catholic education in an April 23 email to the VCEA and was “dismayed” to read a letter subsequently sent to parents in her electorate by the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.

“Catholic schools and communities are proudly diverse and inclusive – home to people of all political persuasions,” she said. “Families deserve facts. And they deserve school communications that reflect care for students, not partisan campaigning.”

The VCEA interventions, which were vetted by its lawyers to ensure it remained within the limits of ACNC and Australian Electoral Commission guidelines, reflects the organisation’s deep connections to both major parties.

While Merlino chairs VCEA, former federal director and campaign manager of the Liberal Party and current chair of the Menzies Research Centre Brian Loughnane serves as one of his fellow directors.

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The Monivae College president who put his name to the letter in Hamilton is James MacKenzie, a corporate confidante of former premier Daniel Andrews who previously served as chairman of the Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Development Victoria and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation.

Tim Udorovic is chief of staff of the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, the organisation which wrote to school parents in Goldstein. He previously worked as chief of staff to Tim Wilson, the former Liberal MP for Goldstein who is trying to win back his old seat from Daniel.

The VCEA is wholly owned by the Catholic Church and is one of its most influential organisations. In addition to serving as the peak representative body for Catholic schools in Victoria, it controls how state and federal government funds are distributed across the Catholic school sector.

A spokesperson for the ACNC said the commission was precluded by law from speaking publicly about the circumstances of any charity but had powers to investigate any suspected breaches of ACNC rules.

“The guidance states that advocacy and campaigning can be a legitimate and effective way of furthering the charitable purposes of a charity,” he spokesperson said. “However, it is important that charities do not cross the line into having a disqualifying political purpose and that they maintain independence from party politics.”

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