House debates Questions without Notice
New South Wales: Board of Studies
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:48 pm
I do not know about Gilligan’s Island, but I know about Foghorn Leghorn!
David Hawker Speaker
The leader will come to his question or he will resume his seat.
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
My question is to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Is the minister aware that the following are currently members of the New South Wales Board of Studies: the President, Professor Gordon Stanley; UTS professor Anthony Baker of the New South Wales Vice-Chancellors Committee; Ms Deborah Lloyd of the New South Wales Federation of P&C Associations; Dr Brian Croke, Executive Director of the Catholic Education Commission of New South Wales; Mr Phillip Heath, headmaster of St Andrew’s Cathedral School; Ms Carolyn Benedet from the Council of Catholic School Parents; or Brother Kelvin Canavan, Director of the Catholic Education Office for Cardinal Pell’s Archdiocese of Sydney?
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Government Members:
Government members interjecting—
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Which one of these would the minister denounced as a Maoist?
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
Bernie Ripoll Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
Mr Ripoll interjecting
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
The Australian government is not afraid of a debate on education that sees a lifting of standards across the country. The point—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House
Who’s the Maoist?
David Hawker Speaker
And so is the member for Charlton! The minister will be heard. I call the minister.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
The point that we have made is that the Australian government wants to see greater national consistency and rising standards in every school across this country. The point that I have raised is that there is a very high level of fragmentation and inconsistency in the development of school curriculum across the country—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order of relevance. The question was very straightforward: which of these would the minister—
David Hawker Speaker
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume her seat.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Government Members:
Government members interjecting—
Alexander Downer Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Mr Downer interjecting
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House
Mr Albanese interjecting
David Hawker Speaker
Order! The member for Grayndler is on very thin ice. I believe members on my left would like to hear a ruling on that point of order. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition raised a point of order. The question asked by the leader was a lengthy question and the minister has only just begun her answer. The minister is in order.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
The focus of the Australian government is to ensure that the state education authorities are held accountable for the curriculum that they develop. We want to ensure that the highest possible standards are achieved in schools across Australia so that, wherever a child attends school in Australia, parents can have the confidence that their children are learning the essentials. That is why we are focusing on literacy and numeracy—to ensure that Australian students are given opportunities in life.
David Hawker Speaker
Order! The member for Charlton will remove herself under standing order 94(a).
The member for Charlton then left the chamber.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
We want to ensure that the fads, the experiments and the political ideology are out of our schools and that we focus on the fundamentals. The Leader of the Opposition ought to be ashamed at the debacle of the outcomes based education that was implemented by the Western Australian government. This is the kind of experimentation that parents in Australia—
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The point of order is on relevance. The question was very clear: which of those members would the minister denounce as a Maoist? That is what the question was.
David Hawker Speaker
The minister is answering the question. I call the minister.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
The Australian government is committed to ensuring that across this country parents can have the confidence that their children are taught the fundamentals to give them a decent chance in life. We will hold the state education authorities accountable for better educational outcomes.