House of Representatives Chamber (part 2 of 3)
25 March 2026
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House of Representatives Australian Parliament
00:00 - 01:40
Speaker 17
Phonics and the need for knowledge rich curricular in schools. These are long standing positions on my side of politics, but the reason they're long standing is because the evidence support... Supports them. And I I want to give credit to the minister for recognizing that. It's also why I welcome the minister's recent call for the curriculum to teach Australian values in school, which he's defined as freedom, democracy, the rule of law, a fair go.
And I agree with that. It's almost exactly in line with the policy that we put forward in government back in 2005 in the national framework for values education in Australian schools, which said, these shared values, such as respect and fair go, are part of Australia's common democratic way of life, which includes equality, freedom, and the rule of law. But this has now become a bipartisan policy position, says something powerful and unifying about the direction our country is headed in. And it's why I welcome the minister's decision to collaborate on the issue of boys' education and refer these matters to the House of Representatives standing committee on education. These are all good things, but it gives me no pleasure to stand up and point out where things aren't going well.
I hate it and so do parents. On this side of the house, we want all schoolchildren to do well, and we need a proper and honest discussion about how to get there rather than distorted figures. This should have been a statement that was upfront about what's really been happening in Victoria. It should have been a statement that gave an accurate picture of achievement of our school children. It should have been a statement that gave clarity around the thriving kids program.
It wasn't, and I find it sad and disappointing to be standing here having to hold the minister to account for inaccuracies and missed opportunities. I thank the house.
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