Re: Religious lessons in State Schools. I don't get it.
It's either all in or all out.
You can't teach the bible and then not teach dreamtime stories. As far as I am concerned call it all religious and cultural stories and teach all of them.
The Bible is followed by about a third of the worlds population, the "rainbow dreamy snake" is a relic of a primitive and completely irrelevant culture in today's world.
I would be happy for my children to be taught verses and stories from the bible, they have practical uses in modern day lives (Eg. arguing with Jehovah's Witnesses). I would of course have full faith in my children's ability to identify the stories as bullshit, (every single animal on a boat? no kid would believe that), but at least given the massive cultural influence of these teachings they would know what is being spoken of when the Bible is referenced.
The Rainbow Dream Snake is utterly irrelevant and can teach my (hypothetical) children nothing.
That's just how I see it.
I would however insist that even the most gruesome stories of the old testament are included, I don't want the religion airbrushed with all the nasty bits taken out. Some excerpts from the Koran may be handy as well, but the Rainbow Serpent crap is laughable.
I'm not saying the Dreamtime Religion (whatever its called) is any less valid or likely than the three great monotheisms, but it is completely useless and irrelevant information that is a waste of tax payer money.