‘Dangerous’: Jacinta Price slams proposed new school curriculum

Indigenous activist and politican Jacinta Price slammed the proposed new curriculum as “dangerous”, saying it risks damaging Aboriginal culture and history.

Indigenous activist and politician Jacinta Price has joined critics of the proposed new Australian curriculum, saying it is “dangerous” and leaves Aboriginal history “open to complete misinterpretation and manipulation.”

“The problem, with the new proposed curriculum is that its dangerous,” said Ms Price, an Alice Springs Town Councillor and one of Australia’s leading Indigenous commentators.

“Aboriginal culture and history is not understood properly” by the curriculum, she says, adding that it is “instead romanticised. This leaves things open to complete misinterpretation and manipulation.”

“This has already happened - look at Bruce Pascoe as an example,” said Ms Price, referring to the controversial author of Dark Emu who has claimed that Aboriginal Australians engaged in settled agriculture and lived in towns of up to 1,000 people.

Education is no longer education but ongoing indoctrination, says Jacinta Price.

“Aboriginal Australia no longer belongs to Aboriginal Australia but is a narrative controlled by those who are descendants or identifiers.”

“Education is no longer education but ongoing indoctrination,” she said.

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine also attacked the proposed new national curriculum, claiming its authors have sought to inject “critical race theory” into the classroom and create a society where people are divided by the colour of their skin.

“We’re heading into really dangerous territory when you start down the path of critical race theory,” said Mr Mundine, who was once national president of the ALP and served as the chairman of Tony Abbott’s Indigenous ­Advisory Council.

“I have major concerns about what’s going on here. It’s indoctrination, and it’s the dumbing down of our education system,” he said, referring to the draft curriculum released last Thursday.

Warren Mundine has called a proposed new school curriculum “critical race theory.” Picture: John Feder

His comments came as senior NSW cabinet minister Anthony Roberts labelled the draft “neo-Marxist rubbish”.

The proposed curriculum changes would replace teaching about the rights to free speech, assembly, and religious belief with language encouraging activism and “direct action”.

Mr Mundine said: “They’re trying to pretend that this is just freedom of speech but it’s about trying to bring down the hierarchy of society.

“Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are cornerstones of our nations. We don’t silence bad ideas, we defeat them with our arguments. If we can’t defeat the racists and the Klan with arguments we are lost.”

“If you take these things out, society collapses.”

NSW Minister Anthony Roberts says the draft is “neo-Marxist rubbish”. Picture: Richard Dobson

While Mr Mundine said it was reasonable to teach that — from the perspective of the Indigenous people living in Australia, European settlement amounted to colonisation — “they’ve gotten the balance all wrong.”

Mr Mundine also criticised the use of the imported term “First Nations” by curriculum authors to describe Aboriginal communities, pointing out that it is a term used in Canada that has little relation to Australia.

Mr Roberts argued the draft should be junked.

“History is history. To continue pushing this is the standard neo-Marxist rubbish that we see float up to the surface on a regular basis,” he said.

“It’s something that belongs in the old Soviet Union and not in a strong Western Democracy such as Australia.”

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says NSW will set its own curriculum. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The state government is able to “adopt and adapt” the national curriculum when forming the school syllabus.

But State Education Minister Sarah Mitchell last night hit out at the proposed curriculum, declaring that “in NSW we set our own curriculum”.

She also expressed frustration to proposed changes that would delay learning of fundamental maths skills and change learning of phonics.

Originally published as ‘Dangerous’: Jacinta Price slams proposed new school curriculum