Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

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

Order! The member for Sturt!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

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

The member for Sturt is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

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) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Crean interjecting

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I could be wrong, but let us check the record.