From the Bookshelf of Aussie Readers…

“John Hubert Plunkett had a most illustrious career in New South Wales. Many of the reforms he introduced had a lasting effect on the colony, some of which have endured until today.

- During the Australian Constitutional Conventions prior to federation in 1901, there was no question but that the new nation would be secular, with no religion of state. In fact, the federal Constitution expressly precludes the Commonwealth from passing laws to establish any religion, to impose any religious observance, or to prohibit the free exercise of any religion.

- It also provides that no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office under the Commonwealth.10 It is in no small measure due to the actions of John Plunkett that this principle was accepted so early in the history of the colony.

- Similarly, the existence of a vigorous state school system side-by-side with religious schools – all funded by government – was due to a policy developed and pursued by John Plunkett.

- The University of Sydney and Sydney Grammar School, with their traditions of excellence in secular, liberal education, were, and still are, important community assets for which we should be grateful to those who were responsible for their establishment, including John Hubert Plunkett. Today, the University of Sydney is ranked among the best in the world,11 while Sydney Grammar School is one of the foremost secondary schools in Australia.

- St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney is still one of the largest teaching hospitals in New South Wales, as it provides first-rate medical services to people of any religion without discrimination or proselytism.