Dutton targets ‘woke agendas’ in schools as critics draw links with Trump

Speaking at a Sky News forum, Dutton was asked what the Coalition would do to “tackle woke agendas” being filtered through the school system.

Dutton said Commonwealth school funding to the states should be tied to the condition that teachers stick to the curriculum and not teach beyond it.

“We should be saying to those that are receiving that funding, that we want our kids to be taught the curriculum,” he began.

“We want our kids to be taught what it is that is needed as they face the challenges of the world, and not to be guided into some sort of an agenda that’s come out of universities…”

There was ‘a lot of work to do’ on this front, Dutton added, but “that’s the way the government can try and influence the NSW Government or the Queensland Government or the Victorian Government, whatever it might be.”

The Opposition leader said there was a “silent majority” of households who felt strongly about this issue, noting it was a “debate we need to hear more from parents on”.

In 2023, controversial analysis by Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) found Australian universities were indoctrinating preservice teachers with ‘woke’ ideologies at the expense of teaching core literacy and numeracy skills.

Author Dr Bella d’Abrera, director of IPA’s Foundations of Western Civilisation Program, argued the findings suggested teaching degree coordinators were “prioritising indoctrination over education”.

“Instead of being taught how to master core academic curriculum such as reading, writing, mathematics, history, and science, prospective teachers are being trained by their university lecturers to be experts in Critical Social Justice, identity politics, and sustainability,” she said at the time.

Backlash erupts

But Dutton’s recent comments have been broadly slammed by the AEU, Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and NSW Education Minister Prue Car.

“Peter Dutton’s proposed control of the school curriculum is chilling, when we see what is happening in the US with book banning and the destruction of teacher’s professional autonomy,” AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said.

Clare also hit back at Dutton’s comments, suggesting his ‘extreme’ focus was way off the mark.

“I’m focused on making sure that our kids can read and write, not this extreme agenda of Peter Dutton,” he told reporters.

“The fact that Peter Dutton isn’t focused on the fundamentals shows that he’s distracted by these culture wars.”

Car, meanwhile, took aim at the Opposition leader for trying to politicise education.

“Given the significant reform NSW has undertaken in delivering its own, nation leading, clear, cohesive and explicit curriculum, I’m reluctant to impose more unnecessary workload onto our hard-working and dedicated teachers for the sake of Peter Dutton’s attempt to politicise our kids’ education,” Car told The Australian.

“It is concerning that Peter Dutton, potentially the next prime minister, is criticising a national curriculum that was signed off by the Liberals and Nationals when he was sitting around the cabinet table.

“We would be happy to brief Peter Dutton on the nation-leading work we are doing here in NSW given he is clearly not across these issues,” Car concluded.

Greens spokesperson on Primary and Secondary Education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, added fuel to the backlash, accusing Dutton of aligning himself with Trump on education.

‘Trump’s Project 2025 playbook’

“Dutton is reading from Trump’s Project 2025 playbook, fantasising about teachers robotically delivering a strictly controlled right-wing curriculum that indoctrinates our kids on the wonders of neoliberalism and European colonialism, and the evils of collective action and diversity,” she said.

Allman-Payne claimed the Liberals are “ideologically opposed to public education”, because they are ”terrified that our kids might be exposed to ideas that don’t conform to their broken world view”.

“Kids in Australia deserve a world-class, free public education, not Peter Dutton standing at the whiteboard telling them what they can and can’t learn,” she contended.

Department under scutiny 

Dutton also questioned the scope and usefulness of the federal department of education at the Sky News forum – a line that’s prompted further suggestions he is taking a leaf out of Trump’s ‘playbook’.

“People ask ... ‘why have you got a department of thousands and thousands of people at a department called the Department of Education in Canberra if you don’t run a school?’” he said.

Trump has recently signed an executive order to essentially dismantle the US federal education department and leave the running of schools to the states.

His executive order seeks to whittle the department down to basic functions such as administering student loans, Pell Grants and resources for children with special needs.

“We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible,” Trump said. “It’s doing us no good.”

Though Republicans control both chambers of Congress, Democratic support would be required to achieve the needed 60 votes in the Senate for such a bill to pass.

Trump has suggested the matter may ultimately land before Congress in a vote to do away with the department entirely.

In Australia, the Opposition has said it will look to cut 41,000 public service jobs if the Coalition wins the election in May, but it has not specified which departments will be targeted.

Today IEU federal secretary Brad Hayes slammed Dutton for “igniting ugly cultural wars for political reasons, at the cost of well-considered education policies”, warning it was harmful to undermine the federal department. 

“Undermining the department responsible for the programs on which schools, teachers, and students depend undermines the whole education system,” Hayes said.

“The Department of Education has the main responsibility for delivering funding to non-government schools, it equates to 80 per cent of total school funding to the sector.

“The families, students and staff in these schools would be big losers if the department was to be cut back.”