New Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton has signalled he wants to take on teacher “extremism” in the debate over the development of Australia’s new national school curriculum, hinting at a United States-style education culture war.
On a Tuesday broadcast of Sky News’ Bolt Report, the freshly elected opposition leader signposted the party’s intention to make what’s being taught in Australia’s schools a hotly contested political issue.
“If [the teaching was] limited to just environmental issues or just to climate change, it would be bad enough. But the extremism of some of the teachers and the language that they use, the approach that they take, it’s across a broad range of policy areas,” he said.
Dutton foreshadowed reigniting a fight with the Labor Party over the draft national curriculum: “I think the national curriculum, the values argument, is going to be one of the big debates over this Parliament. I think you will see a big difference between the policies that we take to the next election compared with what Labor will.”
Last year, then education minister Alan Tudge led a campaign against the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority’s draft curriculum that would be taught to students from preschool to Year 10 nationally.
Before being sidelined over his affair and alleged abusive relationship with a former staffer, which he denies, Tudge took issue with how the document depicted Australia’s racial and religious history. He even went as far as claiming that it would teach students to hate Australia and not want to defend it in war.
The campaign of Tudge and other conservative groups against the draft curriculum coincided with the “critical race theory” backlash in American schools, led by Republicans. Since then, this scrutiny has only intensified (and morphed), and offers insight into why Peter Dutton is so eager to make this into an issue.
There’s a long history of fighting over what is taught in schools in the US, from anti-evolution laws in the 1920s to today’s battles. Since Trump’s loss in 2020, the Republican Party has found success in appealing to parents over how matters of race, sex and gender are being taught — confecting moral panic around being indoctrinated or even “groomed” by teachers.
The recent come-from-behind victory of Republican Glenn Youngkin in last November’s Virginia governor’s race laid out a new blueprint for conservatives winning in liberal-leaning areas. In a state that voted 54-44 for Joe Biden a year before, Youngkin was able to straddle being pro-Trump while also attracting back some voters repelled by Trump by making local education a key issue in the campaign.
Youngkin specifically argued against critical race theory being taught in schools while also appealing against COVID-19 restrictions that kept children at home or wearing masks in the classroom. This, combined with Joe Biden’s dropping popularity, contributed to Youngkin’s campaign picking up enough voters from the suburbs to win.
Going into 2022, state Republicans have doubled down on the critical race theory strategy while also incorporating anti-LGBTIQA+ elements. Florida’s governor and 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner Ron DeSantis proudly passed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, which prohibits discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in state classrooms.
There are reasons to believe a renewed focus on classroom culture wars using the national curriculum as a trojan horse could be a smart strategy for the Liberal Party. Education remains an important issue for voters: an ANU-run poll found more than half of voters said improving the education system was a top priority ahead of the 2022 election, beating out issues like reducing crime or dealing with the pandemic. It’s also a traditional Labor strong suit. The party has an 8% lead in which of the two major parties is trusted more to handle the issue.
If the US is anything to go by, embracing this fight could be a way for a Dutton-led opposition to neutralise or even gain ground on an issue that’s been a weakness for them. Dutton started off his term by promising to pay attention to the “forgotten Australians” in the suburbs — the same people who Youngkin picked up. The scare campaign against the Safe Schools Coalition program from 2016-2018 shows there’s fertile political ground for this kind of issue. (Dutton has form on this).
As we saw from Katherine Deves’ kamikaze campaign, international culture wars can’t be directly imported, they need to be translated. One difference is that education policy in the US is mediated through locally elected school boards that develop the curriculum. Australia’s curriculum is national and education policy is state-based — and it’s this difference that could make Australia ripe for a national education culture war.
At least, that’s what Peter Dutton has hinted he is hoping for: “I intend to take this challenge to the Labor Party … and not just at a federal level but also at a state level. I think there’s a lot of work to do there, and it will be a main area of focus.”
Dutts can try and doubtless his pr arm at Mudoch will amplify but they only have 57 seats and the parliament is multi polar now. I can’t imagine the indis supporting any of this imported Republican crap.
Let’s just clarify this, Murdoch is trying and Dutton is the one amplifying it. He is doing News Corp’s bidding, as he always has. Thankfully Labor won’t play into it, and thankfully this culture war crap has been going terribly for the Coalition recently. People are sick of it
Jovial Pete, is a stretch and Murdoch surely has heard the adage about polishing a turd. Inherently the nature of the raw material will become apparent.
All of us are sick of the Climate wars and the Culture Wars are best left with the “Big Lie” looking for orange face bronzer in the Southern states of the US of A.
Think about the teal Independents and the Tasmanian independents, who are socially progressive and fiscally conservative, with a mandate for strong Climate action. Can anyone see them supporting a US style culture war or do you suspect that there will be more Independents, if this rubbish is kicked off?
I think the shock of lockdowns, fires and floods has created a reality that people share and help and with this comes a sense of community overall.
Combined with 60’s something retired bright women door knocking and asking people what their concerns are,..pretty much exposes neoliberal ideology for what it is., a goldmine for the very wealthy and unscrupulous.
The difference between what we’ve gone through and neoliberalism is stark, and Mr Dutton’s image and thought bubbles as the poster boy couldn’t be any more stark.
Albo’s approach of being civil is also going to make much of the angry right wing media look overblown.
The IPA and Murdoch will make it rain subversion but it may not work if Labor has prepared properly. For me it boils down to what the rest of mainstream media do and how many Neoliberals exist in this new government and with the independents..
So I think there will likely be more independents if that army of women keep doorknocking, educating and empowering.
It was terribly unfair “…door knocking and asking people what their concerns are…” instead of haranguing them.
Who knows where that could lead?
Correct its not Dutts really, its the Murdoch Mafia agenda, its not just right wing its neo fascist and very dangerous…. Down with the fascists in News corp
One reason I was relieved that the Libs got kicked out was their use of culture wars and calling things ‘woke’ to create a divided society rather than bring people together (even if they hold different views) through a respectful exchange of ideas and embracing a diversity of informed opinion.
This article seems to suggest that it’s a good idea for Dutton to pit people against each other in a continuation of the I’ll-informed and bigoted culture wars.
Shouldn’t he be encouraged to be constructive rather than drive people apart? I’m tired of politics being about scoring points and politicians being admired for their success in doing this.
A while ago. I read some of Tudge’s stuff on Australian values that he thought migrants should subscribe to when becoming citizens and it showed a woeful lack of knowledge about migrants; and some of it was downright hypocritical where he demanded that they abide by the rule of law whilst he was being found in contempt of court on three different occasions. Some of them are just bigoted and ignorant and this shouldn’t be encouraged.
I don’t see the article saying this proposed culture war is a good idea for Australia. Its only saying it may be a successful political tactic for Dutton. And why not? Plenty of other culture war crap has worked for the Coalition.
Sorry fellow swimmer, that was then.
Now, most Australians I know are sick of the lies and the BS and the “god told me it was OK, mob”……..
Try that on again and we can always drive them out to the 100 km zone and let them walk home,eh?
It should give them ample time to think.
Love your work Ratty. Gave me a good chuckle.
As a side issue – I am old and not up with the the latest trends and jargon. The only woke I have is when I woke up this morning for another day. But I do take people as they are.
On polling day a lovely young person who was transitioning to female was handing out how to vote cards for the greens at a very conservative booth in an area referred to as the middle class God’s waiting room.
We had a very pleasant conversation and were rewarded by the LNP standing off and ignoring us.
As I said to the sitting Liberal member – His constituents will all be dead in a couple of elections and the younger generation will move in.
I am not owning up to my age, however, I was forced to google “woke” the first time that our Queensland Spud used it.
Stop it or I will wet myself laughing,
I still don’t get it. It appears to be said as an insult, whereas in my thinking being awake
means being aware and not being easily fooled. At times I feel that jargon is used as a
tool to confuse rather than to instruct.
I’m with you Maroochy. “Woke”, “From the Get-go” and a good one leading from this article. Critical race theory’s “ethnocenticity” based on being “centric”.
Spoken and written language is the only device we have to transfer moderately creative thoughts from one mind to another (unless you fly an ultra-modern jet fighter perhaps, and I guess I could include signing) and english was one of the better, if not best, languages to do this. As I said was. Is this a”woke” thought on my part. Am I a “centrist” when it comes to this theory. I’m a bit of a mongrel when it comes to race, so it is definitely not “ethnocentric”. LOL
You know whst, I don’t think the majority of the Lib/ Nat pollies don’t have values at all;
they came into politics for the money and the power and the power has gone to their
heads. Few of them, if any, have a decent idea about anything about how much they
can rort from the public purse without putting anything of value back into the country.
Hence following the Tepublicans-
“Shouldn’t he be encouraged to be constructive rather than drive people apart?” I think you may have misunderstood the motives of the LNP Coalition hierarchy, Dutton and his fellows – and their sponsors. What drives them is power, and not power to implement a restoration of a quasi-egalitarian society based on social justice for all. The Liberal foot-soldiers in the leafy suburbs may believe in supposedly altruistic liberal ideals and freedom for all, although this may be changing given the recent election results.
No, simple unbridled power is the goal. This is confirmed by legislation that has been passed since September 2013, and the mores and traditions sundered at the same time. People are now considered to be guilty in Australia, and left to prove their innocence. Ministers have power to make absolute decisions that affect peoples lives – without any recourse to justice. We have had religion stalking the corridors of Parliament – the three pillars of democracy now working hand in hand for the betterment of one part of society. And how have despots and dictators achieved and maintained this in other countries? By driving people apart and placing circumstance in their way to prevent any chance of reunion – it is so much easier than trying to bring people together.
Do you mean “shouldn’t have been re-elected”? I do..
Good to see that Mutton is heading straight back to the place where he’s most comfortable: the gutter.
It looks as though the SADness will drag Dutton even further to the rabid right. This will be the death throes of the Liberal party if it does.
These ideological idiots don’t see that they are consuming themselves with their drive ever further into Oblivion.
This idiocy might have some currency in the nuthouse that is US politics, but it has been thoroughly and completely rejected by sane, sensible Australian voters with a voting system that actually works and an AEC which is beyond reproach.
You’d think the election would have taught him that Australians are not little Yanks, and that their culture wars do not map well to our own issues (real or imagined).
The trouble is, we think, the Sadness do not. there is no thought in rabid ideologues. Albanese wants to change the way politics is done, the SADness cannot fathom a world where their shouting at TV camera’s is ignored/treated with the contempt it deserves.
I’m not sure if they get their marching orders/talking points directly from Faux HQ in the States, or they just parrot whatever is the USA’s issue de jour. Whichever it is, its deplorable..
One can only wish.
I subscribe to the NYT- an addiction since Trump that I’m trying to kick. The relief I felt post election, that despite the toxic influence of Facebook et al. Australians were fed up with toxic culture wars and a do nothing leadership, was immense. Trumpism did not win in Australia. Give it up, we are not Americans, how sorry I feel for them.