Even more disgusting: The NSW government handing over tens of millions of taxpayer funds to private corporations and vocational educators for training; including an award of $1,809,485 to Mcdonald’s Australia for vocational education and training.

Another couple of examples are funding to the tune of $4.68 million to Vision Training Institute and $4.48 million to the Wise Education Group.

The question to be asked is: Why is NSW taxpayers money being handed over to for profit companies and big global corporations for training purposes while, at the same time, massive cuts are being carried out to TAFE?

The answer is: Privatisation. Future funding will decrease for TAFE colleges and be increased for the private sector until public vocational training is fully privatised.

John Macleod, Berry

Malcolm Turnbull’s attempt to use the South Australian electricity outage to snipe at the policy decisions taken by Labor state governments to increase reliance upon renewable energy sourcing said as much about his arrant hypocrisy as it did about his lack of knowledge of the fundamentals involved in electricity transmission.

Prime Minister, it does not matter from which power generating source South Australian consumers were receiving their electricity.

Once the power lines and supporting pylons delivering that supply, were destroyed by a freak event of nature, a statewide outage was inevitable.

One would have thought even an individual with the mental capacity of sausage roll, could have worked that out.

Instead, Australians witnessed “Malcolm the Magician” throwing another of his contrived hissy fits.

On this occasion, suggesting the policies of Bill Shorten and his mob may have left some SA people trapped in lifts or even worse, being denied their opportunity to enjoy an apple Danish with their morning coffee.

Barry Swan, Balgownie

The move by the Federal Liberal Government to dismantle the Gonski scheme for school education must rank as the greatest act of political bastardry ever enacted on Australian society.

Our founding fathers did not see that it was the roll of government to promote division within society and limited funding to government schools.Decades later, this was discarded by Menzies and Whitlam.

Many countries still restrict funding to secular government schools.

The Gonski review recognised that the provision of some taxation revenue to private schools could not now be reversed and so tried to move back towards fairness by funding all schools and all students according to need.

The Gonski scheme was universally lauded when released and Tony Abbott famously made his " iron clad" pre-election promise that "Liberal and Labor are one on Gonski".

The present federal government move is based on their belief that funding elites is more beneficial to Australia's future than the "fair go" inherent in Gonski.

Arguments about public vs private are nothing more than a confusing smokescreen.

State Liberal Adrian Piccoli, arguably NSW's best ever education minister, is opposing his federal colleagues and standing up for fairness the very principle that Australia's pioneers believed should be the core value that would create the world' s greatest society.

Sadly we are now led by politicians of lesser calibre and decency.

John Cropper, Thirroul