One of Australia's youngest-ever senators has been appointed by the LNP. He is 28-years-old and it would be nice to say that he is the proud product of the Victorian public education system but, sadly, he seems rather apologetic about the lack of an elite private school in his CV.

Given the educational background of most of our representatives, whatever party they belong to, I suppose this is hardly surprising. Most of them went to fee-charging schools of one kind or another so I guess poor Senator Paterson feels the lack.

Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson, , centre, being sworn in. Credit:James Paterson / Facebook

Indeed, given his interview with Wendy Harmer on ABC 702 on Thursday it seems James Paterson couldn't wait to shake the déclassé public school dust off his heels. Despite what I assume is a complete lack of experience of private schools, he told Harmer that many parents are choosing private schools because they believe such schools are "better at conveying the values of a good work ethic, caring for your community and your neighbours and being raised in a way that is socially conservative."

According to his maiden speech he is also opposed to a national curriculum, which he seems to regard as a subversive, left-wing document. He believes it should be replaced by competing private curricula. He is also a fan of charter or so-called independent public schools and seems to believe that they will solve the widening gap between our lowest and highest achievers. Unfortunately, the evidence that they make a big difference is thin.