Hard to imagine a planning stoush that's more quintessentially Ah-madale: on one side, the elite girls school Lauriston, on the other, the Armadale Residents Group, campaigning for the right-to-life of old buildings. As The Age reported last week, Lauriston wants to raze its Federation-era Sutherland House for a $23 million "sports and wellness centre".

Did anyone else do a double-take here? Not about the threatened house, but about the proposed new centre: $23 million. Then again, Lauriston's revenue last year was almost $35 million so why be surprised?

Lauriston plans to replace 107-year-old Sutherland House with a 'sports and wellness centre'. Credit:Justin McManus

The news underscores how such bastions of privilege bequeath their students an unconscionable head-start in life. If you think that's a cheap shot, consider that last year the school pocketed taxpayer dollars amounting to almost 10 per cent of its total income (in 2015, the figure was about $2.5 million). Small change, by elite private school standards - which is precisely the point. If you harbour even the weakest egalitarian impulse, this gifting of public money to rich schools adds insult to injury.

The Turnbull Government's Gonski 2.0 school funding reform leaves intact the elite schools' entitlement to the public purse, merely tinkering with their pocket money. Astonishingly, Labor outdoes the Coalition in affirming the elite schools' right to a handout.