"yes there is a baseline knowledge that is necessary and this needs to be taught and more importantly assessed."
Which was my point. The baseline knowledge is not being taught, nor, much more importantly, is it necessary to know it to get VHA grades in Yr 12.
"give principals the power to hire who they want, not stuck with having to take someone who has "done their time" in the bush."
And give the principals their own budgets too. If they want to have fewer, high quality teachers who are happy to take larger classes because it is a good school to work in (because the principal runs it well) then that should be allowed. One of the best teachers I ever had had a class of 41, with a full range from smart kids to autistic.
