Australian Parent's Council

In 1958 Cedric and Margaret Gartland and their family moved to Melbourne from Perth, after being closely associated with the new PFFWA. They came at a time when Victorian Catholics were becoming aware of a growing crisis in their schools.

Correspondence in the Catholic papers canvassed the idea of political action to obtain educational justice in Victoria and eventually led to the formation of the Parents and Friends Federation of Victoria (PFFV), later known as the Victorian Parents Council. Executive members of the well established Catholic Parish Schools' Association were involved in its formation. These groups established contact with the Gartlands and, in November 1958, met in Melbourne at the invitation of the Catholic Parish Schools' Association.

A Provisional Committee was formed, consisting of Mr Cedric Gartland, Mr Terry Roche and Mr John McKenna, to prepare a draft constitution. On 19 December 1958 the Archbishop of Melbourne gave his approval for the formation of the Parents and Friends' Federation in the Archdiocese. The inaugural meeting was held on 17th August 1959. At this meeting Mr Terry Roche was elected President, Mr John McKenna, Secretary and Mr Cedric Gartland, Treasurer.

In August of the previous year, the Victorian Federation of Catholic Mothers Clubs (VFCMC) was founded. Its membership was open only to mothers and was not well geared to political action. The VFCMC became a close support group for the activities of the PFFV and helped organise their large political meetings.

The political climate in which the PFFV commenced was far from encouraging. There was a general reluctance of politicians to express support for government funding for non-government schooling for fear of defeat at the next poll. The Liberal Party had no specific policy on the issue. The Premier of Victoria, Sir Henry Bolte, during an early interview with representatives of the PFFV, described the issue as a "hot potato" and "political dynamite" (J. McKenna - The Struggle for Educational Justice - July 1972).

Following the split in the ALP in 1955 and the emergence of the DLP, the ALP at its Victorian Conference reverted to the old policy of 'no state aid'.
The PFFV had few resources and no office but was supported by dedicated volunteers who allowed meetings to be held in their homes, did the necessary typing, telephoning, roneoing, folding and posting of documents, mostly free of charge to the organisation. The Gartlands were at the forefront of the voluntary work.

The new executive formed about forty electoral committees which later became branches of the organisation. These became the State-wide base for future activities.

The PFFV embarked on a programme of deputations to members of the two State houses of Parliament. Visits were made by members of these electoral committees from within the electorates of the members. The objectives were to inform the politicians about the situation in the schools and to attempt to win a commitment to the cause of justice in education funding. This was followed by a deputation to Sir Henry Bolte, who undertook to discuss the matter with his fellow Premiers at the 1960 Premiers' Conference. Afterwards, Sir Henry stated he was still unable to hold out any hope of assistance.

The first major 'Education Justice Campaign' was launched at a meeting of 700 people at the Cathedral Hall, Fitzroy, on 18 April 1961. The principal objectives of this campaign were:

• to inform candidates for election and politicians generally of the existing situation in Catholic schools; and
• to attempt to get candidates to commit themselves publicly or in writing on the use of government funds to assist non-government school children.

Guides containing statistics and information on how to go about the campaign were prepared for use by supporters. No commitment to 'state aid' resulted, but the activity firmly established the position of the PFFV. Large meetings with election candidates on the platform were held at several centres.

On 25 October 1961, a deputation from the PFFV was received by Sir Henry Bolte and Mr J. Bloomfield, the Minister for Education. They were asked for per capita grants of £10 per child for primary pupils and £20 per child for secondary pupils. Both appeared sympathetic but stated quite firmly that no funds could be made available.

The PFFV immediately decided to organise a protest meeting and this was held on 13 November 1961, filling Richmond Town Hall to overflowing. The meeting passed the following resolution:

"This meeting records a strong protest at the continued disregard by all Australian Governments, Federal and State, of the fundamental right of the parent to choose the education of his child. It asks all political parties to make a fresh appraisal of the problems of non-government schools. It calls on the Federal Government to make increased funds available immediately, so that an adequate education will be available to every Australian child."

A further Resolution stated "we shall not rest" until our aims are achieved.

These Resolutions were circulated to all politicians, Federal and State, and the meeting and the issues discussed attracted great publicity.
The PFFV believed in the importance of well researched accurate information in their campaigns. In February 1962 the PFFV newsletter was launched carrying a New Year message from the President who said:

"It is my belief that the fight will really be won not in the heat of elections or the mass hysteria of press campaigns, but in the quiet consistent persuasiveness of our local efforts."

Mrs Margaret Gartland was editor, typist and producer of the PFFV Newsletter until 1989. She specialised in statistics, particularly the real costs of educating pupils in government schools.