Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Hansard source

I am afraid so, Prime Minister—that is what the member for Lilley said. It seems that the only confusion on this issue is in fact on the Labor side of the House. A few months ago, it was reported in the Canberra Times that ‘students needed to be taught the narrative history of this country .’ The Prime Minister could have said that, but indeed it was the Leader of the Opposition who said that. A few months ago the Leader of the Opposition was saying that students needed to be taught the narrative history of this country and yet, a few months later, Beazley was ‘against the history revival’ and in fact dismissed the teaching of traditional Australian history in schools as an ‘elite preoccupation’. So while there is clearly confusion on the part of the Leader of the Opposition—and the Australian public are entitled to be confused about where he stands on this and many other issues—I can assure Australian parents that I will be listening to the advice from the summit participants and that I will be working with education authorities to ensure that the teaching of Australian history takes its rightful place in Australian schools.

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