House debates Questions without Notice
Education
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:06 pm
Mr Speaker, my question is again to the Prime Minister. I refer to Labor’s plan for the creation of a national curriculum board to deliver a common national curriculum in English, history, maths and science.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Pyne interjecting
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Prime Minister, why, after years and years of talk, has the government failed to act to deliver a national curriculum for Australia’s schoolchildren?
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Pyne interjecting
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
Mr Speaker, can I correct the Leader of the Opposition? I thought it was Julie Bishop’s plan, actually. One of the reasons that we have not made what I think is a very elegantly presented plan by the—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
David Hawker Speaker
Order! The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The level of interjections is far too high. The Prime Minister will be heard!
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I think one of the reasons why more progress has not been made on this is a thing called the education unions, who have been busily instructing state ministers. Let met say that I welcome the fact that the Leader of the Opposition has now come on board. One of the things that I will find interesting, and I am sure the minister will find interesting, is analysing the remarks of the former Deputy Leader of the Opposition the member for Jagajaga on this matter. If my memory serves me correctly—and I have not checked the record; I may be wrong—I have a faint suspicion that when the idea of a national curriculum was raised by the minister it was lambasted by the member for Jagajaga as a terrible attempt by the Howard government to impose ideological uniformity on the skills of Australia.
Simon Crean Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Regional Development
Mr Crean interjecting
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I could be wrong, but let us check the record.