Liberals call out school textbook as ‘green alarmism’ for ‘slur’ on former PM Tony Abbott

A NSW high school history text book which claims MP Tony Abbott made “international headlines as a climate change denier” is a “reprehensible” slur on the former PM and should be withdrawn from classrooms, the state’s education minister Rob Stokes has been told.

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A high school history textbook which claims former Prime Minister Tony Abbott made “international headlines as a climate change denier” has been deemed a reprehensible slur and should be withdrawn from classrooms across NSW, Education Minister Rob Stokes has been told.

The widely used Year 10 textbook also makes other “inaccurate” historical claims about the mining tax under former PM Julia Gillard which is nothing more than “green alarmism masquerading as history”, according to Hughes Federal MP Craig Kelly.

Member for Warringah Tony Abbott has been referred to as ‘a climate change denier’ in a school history text book. Picture: AAP

Liberal Member for Hughes Craig Kelly said the text book made claims that were ‘green alarmism masquerading as history’. Picture: AAP

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Mr Stokes said he would write to the publishers of the Pearson History Year 10 NSW SB text book to raise the concerns from Mr Kelly.

Education Minister Rob Stokes will write to the publishers to raise Mr Kelly’s concerns. Picture: Peter Lorimer

It follows the complaint of a concerned family from the Sutherland Shire who contacted Mr Kelly about the climate change claims being taught as historical fact to their son.

Mr Kelly raised the issue in federal parliament and said students should not be taught “an important area of contentious political debate” and “opinion” as “fact”.

“Given that climate change is such a contentious political issue … it is essential that our schools contain accurate facts,” he said.

Mr Kelly wrote to Mr Stokes challenging the “historical inaccuracies” in the book, including assertions that recent floods, drought and fires are evidence of extreme ­climate change events.

“Calling former PM Tony Abbott a ‘climate change denier’ — a claim given legitimacy by asserting ‘made international headlines’ — has no place in a school textbook.

“This is an offensive slur equating it with Holocaust deniers,” Mr Kelly said.

An extract from the school history book.

He said the concerned parents of a Year 10 boy in a Catholic school told him their son had already dropped out of Geography because of “climate change indoctrination embedded in the course”.

The history textbook is widely used in public schools.

It also states that former PM John Howard “refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol even though Australia has one of the highest emissions per ­person in the world”.

“Most Australians believe that the government needs to do more to tackle the problem,” the book asserts.

Mr Stokes said he “appreciated the concerns” raised by Mr Kelly and others.

“I have written to the publisher expressing these concerns,” Mr Stokes said.

“It is very important that texts present information in a balanced way so that students can make up their own minds on important issues.

A spokeswoman for the Pearson publisher has backed the book. “Pearson builds textbooks to support the Australian Curriculum and we standby this text book and its author,” she said.