Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Is the minister aware of Associate Professor Tony Taylor’s critique of the Australian history summit in the Australian of 23 August 2006? What is the government’s response to the summit’s communique? Are there any alternative views?

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

I thank the member for Canning for his question. I know that, as a former teacher, he would be interested in the Australian government’s push to restore Australian history to its rightful place in our schools.

I am pleased to report to the House that on 17 August a history summit was held here in Parliament House. Twenty-three leading historians, educators and commentators looked at issues such as what Australian history is being taught in Australian schools, how it is being taught, what could or should be taught and why. I am aware of Associate Professor Tony Taylor’s critique, and a very fine summary of the Australian history summit it was. At the end of the day, we had a unanimous communique from the participants, who recommended to the Australian government that Australian history be a discrete, stand-alone subject, be compulsory for years 9 and 10 and be planned and taught sequentially through primary and secondary school. They also recommended that we work with state and territory governments to produce a model curriculum for Australian history. I have now established a working party to focus on the establishment of a model curriculum.

I was asked about alternative views. Fortunately, because of the pressure of the overwhelming public support for the federal government’s push to have Australian history restored to a discrete place in our school curriculum, a number of state governments have buckled and come on board and are now supporting the Australian government’s push for Australian history to be a stand-alone subject. As for other views, I was rather surprised to read that the West Australian Labor education minister has decided that you do not need to learn history, that all you have to do is google it. The headline in the West Australian of 22 August read ‘Don’t learn it, just Google it: Ravlich’. The article said:

Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich says it is not important for students to know key historical dates, saying they can find the information using the internet search engine Google.

…         …         …

Questioned about a straw poll by The West Australian which revealed a lack of knowledge of key events in Australian history, she said: “You can ask many students a range of questions about the internal workings of a computer and chances are they wouldn’t know anything about that.”

I have no idea what she was talking about, but it seems that the Leader of the Opposition did. The next day, the Leader of the Opposition supported this position. The headline in the West Australian read ‘Google OK, says history fan Beazley’. The article reported:

Kim Beazley has backed State Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich’s claim that students do not need to learn significant historical dates because they can find them on the internet using Google, saying yesterday that “she was on to something”.

Mr Beazley said that he loved Ms Ravlich’s “Generation-X” comments, in which she also likened a lack of knowledge about Australian history to not knowing the internal workings of a computer.

Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wilkie interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Swan is warned!

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

I would caution the Leader of the Opposition about too heavy a reliance on Google. I looked up an Australian history time line on Google and it leaves out the arrival of the Duyfken to our northern shores, it leaves out the arrival of Captain Cook on our eastern shores, it leaves out the outbreak of the First World War and it leaves out the outbreak of the Second World War. It leaves out any mention of Curtin, it leaves out any mention of Menzies and there is no mention of 1975. I would caution the Leader of the Opposition—

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Snowdon interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lingiari is warned! The minister will be heard.

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

I do caution the Leader of the Opposition about relying on Google. This morning I looked up ‘Kim Beazley’ on Google. The first article was ‘Kim Beazley—toothless in trouble’ and the second was ‘Kim Beazley completely loses the plot’. I would not have thought that this was the kind of history that the Leader of the Opposition would be promoting for our students. We would support learning, not googling. I know the Leader of the Opposition was committed to the ‘noodle nation’ education policy. Please spare us from a ‘Google nation’ education policy in the next election. No ‘Google nation’, please.