Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Several weeks ago, during the last recess, I was grateful to be invited to the Illaroo Road Public School to address years 5 and 6 classes on government and my role as a politician. It is an extremely gratifying process to be able to dissect in the simplest of terms what we do here in parliament. To take away the jargon and complexity and explain something in a way that children of 10 years, 11 years and 12 years would understand allows you to express a clarity that is, in some ways, humbling. The innocence of the young is refreshing and at the same time inspirational.

Some of these young people will be standing in our shoes some day, and after listening to them I am confident that they will serve their community well. Of particular interest was when I asked for a show of hands over their level of awareness. I asked how they found out information and how they processed that information. I asked how many read the local papers, and about 70 per cent put up their hands. There was a similar response for those that listened to the news and to the question of how many talked about what they heard with their own peer groups and with their teachers.

What was disappointing, I suppose, was the response to the question about how many discussed what they had heard with their parents. The response was about 20 per cent at best. It is not so much the numbers that are important as the contrast between the responses on the level of personal awareness and those on discussing these issues with the parents. The disparity was more than significant.

Now, I could say that perhaps there is something in the outdated axiom that children should be seen and not heard, but I wonder how many children are discouraged from engaging with their parents by the attitude of those very same parents. We as adults often criticise children for acting selfishly and even irresponsibly. We point the finger at children who are caught engaging in vandalism and for being surly, for seemingly not caring about what we care about. Perhaps the blame, if there is any, should be directed at the people who make the difference: the adults. Maybe we are not investing in the time we need with our children to validate our perceptions. The children I spoke to that day were alert, intelligent and receptive, but only to the degree that we have allowed. There is a lot of potential that can be developed, and we as parents need to encourage that development. Too often we rely on de facto parent figures such as teachers to do the job for us, when we should be investing in that process personally.

In some of their questions I could hear an echo of their parents’ thoughts. How much money do politicians make? Do they pay for their own petrol? What does what? And so on. There were also a number of misconceptions over government, and I went to pains to explain that they cannot believe everything they read in the newspapers.

The schools are doing a wonderful job in teaching civics and how our society works. Schools can encourage curiosity, responsibility and the need to live in accord with each other; but that is the role of parents, and I would encourage each and every parent to get closer to their children. It also told me that I must spend more time with my grandchildren, for, like the parents, I do not always tune in to what they may be telling me.

I have to say, it was the most challenging hour that I have faced for some time. To the teachers who tutored these children, my compliments. The children were articulate and very aware of the issues and complexities affecting Australia and even the world. Illaroo Road Public School and its staff are a credit to the Gilmore community, as are the students themselves, for setting such an exemplary standard. (Time expired)