The IEU has joined other education unions to demand politicians stop attacking the teaching profession as part of divisive so-called culture wars.
At the start of the federal election campaign, the IEU, the Australian Education Union and the National Tertiary Education Union issued a joint media statement (see below) calling on politicians to respect the nation’s qualified, professional teaching workforce.
Countering culture wars
With a collective total of more than 285,000 members from the early childhood, school, TAFE and university sectors, the unions called on Peter Dutton and the Coalition to end the vilification of education, research and the teaching profession.
“This political interference would not be accepted in any other occupation and it will not be accepted by teachers,” the unions said in their joint statement.
IEUA Federal Secretary Brad Hayes said the challenges in education require a professional dialogue free from partisan attacks and teacher bashing.
“Peter Dutton seems intent on igniting ugly culture wars for political reasons, at the cost of well-considered education policies,” he said.
Criticising the curriculum
In April, the Opposition Leader said federal education funding could be withheld or reallocated from schools and universities to curb “woke” curriculums.
This is the very same curriculum that was reviewed, endorsed and implemented in April 2022 by the then Coalition government, in which Dutton was a senior minister.
He has also raised the spectre of job cuts to the federal Education Department, telling a live election forum it employed “thousands and thousands of people in Canberra” even though the federal government “doesn’t own or run a school”.
Politicians pile on
The Opposition Leader is not alone in teacher bashing.
Former state MP Nathaniel Smith was named Liberal candidate for the seat of Whitlam despite once claiming school students were being “brainwashed” by Marxist and woke ideologies.
He replaced Benjamin Britton who was dumped as the Liberal candidate after his controversial views were revealed including that the education system was “indoctrinating” young Australians about Marxist ideologies.
Likewise, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation claimed the education system was controlled by “the extremist left, causing brainwashing and exposure to extremist views”.
Billionaire Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party claimed schools were pushing a “far-left, woke ideology”.
Defending the department
Hayes said positive changes to the education system that are under way require adequate resourcing for schools and the federal Education Department overseeing the reforms.
“Undermining the department responsible for the programs on which schools, teachers and students depend undermines the whole education system,” he 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.”
Joint Union Media Release – Education Unions Join Against Dutton’s Attacks On Teachers
Across the nation, the teaching profession is giving 100% every day to ensure that every student has access to a high quality education and they need the full support of our communities to do their jobs well. This political interference would not be accepted in any other occupation. It will not be accepted by teachers.