NSW Board of Studies attacked
6 October 2006
Julie Bishop attack on NSW Board of Studies is outrageous
Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop to apologise to members of the NSW Board of Studies for her insulting remarks linking their work with Chairman Mao.
"Members of the NSW Board of Studies undertake difficult work and are struggling with conflicting needs. Disagreements will inevitably arise over curriculum content but using insulting language is unacceptable," Ms Rhiannon said today.
"Ms Bishop has lost the plot in her attempt to run her own ideological campaign. An unequivocal apology needs to be given to the NSW Board of Studies immediately.
"Ms Bishop has launched this attack as part of her attempt to takeover school curricula and remake them in her own ideological image.
"In this ham-fisted attempt to centralise power in Canberra, Ms Bishop has accused a number of NSW's eminent education experts and administrators of acting like Chairman Mao.
"Professor Gordon Stanley, who is the President of the Board and people like Dr Mary Fogarty have years of experience in education. They have done excellent work supporting the work of teachers across this state.
"Ms Bishop will no doubt be rebuked by her Coalition colleagues in NSW when they realise that the Federal Education Minister has accused a number of leading NSW private school representatives of being Maoists.
"These include Dr Brian Croke, a nominee of the NSW Catholic Education Commission; Mr Phillip Heath, a nominee of the Association of Independent Schools, the Headmasters' Conference and the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools; Ms Caroline Benedet, a parent of a child attending a non-government school, being a nominee of the Council of Catholic School Parents and the New South Wales Parents' Council and Brother Kelvin Canavan AM.
"It is a bit rich when the Minister who has imposed her narrow conservative views of education accuses the NSW Board of Studies of being ideological. Perhaps the Minister's outburst could find its way onto the NSW English curriculum as a defining case study in irony.
"The NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt needs to be standing up to Ms Bishop and defending the Board," Ms Rhiannon said.
