Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Carr, the Minister representing the Minister for Education. Does the minister agree with Professor Barry McGaw, Labor’s hand-picked head of the National Curriculum Board, who was recently reported as saying that faith based schools created division and threatened national cohesion?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. The answer is clear. I am not certain of what Mr McGaw has said or has not said. What I can say is that the government is committed to ensuring that people do have the opportunity to send their children to the schools of their choice. There has been no suggestion anywhere in the government that people are not entitled to send their children to religious based schools. We do expect schools to meet the criteria of all schools in Australia. We do expect the quality assurance mechanisms to be available for all children in Australia. We do expect that state governments will play their part in ensuring the maintenance of those quality assurance mechanisms. But under no circumstances has anyone anywhere within this government suggested that there be a prohibition on people sending their children to a particular school based on their religious beliefs.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Let me quote from the Melbourne Age:

“These people often form a narrowly focused school that is aimed at cementing the faith it’s based on … If we continue as we are, I think we’ll just become more and more isolated subgroups in our community,” Professor McGaw told The Age—

on 25 February 2008. Was the government aware of Professor McGaw’s prejudices against hundreds of thousands of students at faith based schools before he was appointed to head the national curriculum board?

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister is waiting to respond.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Professor McGaw—and I apologise for getting his title wrong—has made some comments, you allege. I have not seen those comments. I am not aware of whether or not those reports are accurate. Professor McGaw has a well-established reputation for his expertise in schools policy. I do not know whether or not the comments attributed to him are accurate. What I can say is that the Australian government has not made those comments and has not in any way subscribed to those views.