Education about civics and democracy a matter of priority

Milton Dick, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

There was actually one very positive development amid the political theatre that dominated the first week of federal parliament.

It came soon after Milton Dick took his place once more as Speaker of the House of Representatives – an appointment supported by both sides of politics.

Anthony Albanese and Sussan Ley both heaped praise on Dick for the same reason: his personal efforts in promoting civics and democracy in the nation’s schools.

During the last parliament, he visited more than 160 schools and after taking his seat on Tuesday he unveiled plans to expand that program.

“I’m inviting all members to join me in a new push to improve civics education across all our communities,” he said.

“Today I announce a new civics agenda. I proudly today commit to visiting every single electorate in this country.”

This is not part of his duties as Speaker. But he does it anyway. And in the long term, it might prove just as beneficial as keeping order in the House of Representatives.

In February a parliamentary inquiry concluded that formal methods of civics education are simply not working.

They are disjointed, fragmented and inequitable. And because of that people are struggling to fully participate in Australian democracy.

It found that some people said they had never received any form of civics education, which can result in feelings of alienation and distrust in the political process and institutions.

That finding, from an inquiry conducted by parliament’s joint standing committee on electoral matters, points to one of the biggest threats confronting this country.

Democracies around the world, including Australia, are facing challenges such as foreign interference, discord online, and polarisation.

As a result, young people are feeling disillusioned and disconnected from civic society and there has been a steady decrease and erosion in public trust in democracy.

The message is clear: we need to get our own house in order. Unless the benefits of democracy are embedded in every generation of school students they will be vulnerable to manipulation when it comes time to vote.

The starting point is the mechanics of elections and understanding the differences between local, state and national governments.

But if the goal is to give people the information they need to have a stake in democracy, civics needs to go further.

At the heart of Australian democracy is a set of principles that underpin our Constitution that are known collectively as the rule of law – a doctrine designed to protect ordinary people from arbitrary rule.

These principles are the real point of distinction that sets this country apart from societies where the rights of ordinary people are of little consequence.

True democracy is not possible without, for example, the presumption of innocence and a universal recognition that the law must be known in advance and should apply equally.

That means nobody – including the government – is above the law. But it also means nobody is below the law: every minority is entitled to equal protection from those who would do them harm.

These ideas are not set down in some charter. They are principles of governance that have been developed over hundreds of years and form the backbone of all true democracies.

They provide a reliable and unchanging benchmark by which to measure the conduct of every government.

If we fail to pass on these principles to subsequent generations, we leave young people ill-equipped to defend this country’s democratic heritage.

Yet that is exactly what has been happening.

For proof, look no further than the latest findings by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority.

That organisation’s National Assessment Program for Civics and Citizenship shows just 43 per cent of year 6 students and 28 per cent of year 10 students are proficient in civics and citizenship.

This is the lowest level of proficiency in civics and citizenship in two decades.

When you dig into those findings, confidence in some of the nation’s key institutions is also in trouble.

The proportion of year 10 students who trust the courts is just 64 per cent – down from 70 per cent in 2019.

The only institution losing trust faster was the police, with a rating among year 10 students that crashed from 74 per cent in 2019 to 64 per cent last year.

This might help explain why a poll conducted last month by my organisation, the Rule of Law Education Centre, found fewer than half of all Australians – just 47 per cent – believe the legal system is providing equal treatment for everyone regardless of background.

But momentum for change is building.

The report of that parliamentary inquiry has identified that much of the problem is due to inconsistency in the way civics is approached in the nation’s schools.

Instead of having aspects of civics embedded in other subjects, that inquiry backed moves to have civics made a mandatory separate subject in the next version of the Australian schools curriculum.

All this is happening against the background of a global rise in the number of countries that are subjected to authoritarian rule.

Last year’s report by the World Justice Project made that clear: “Since 2016, a global rule of law recession has affected 77 per cent of the countries studied, including Australia.”

Because the rule of law sits at the heart of democracy, that means democracy is also in trouble.

The challenge now is whether others will follow the example of Milton Dick and make education about civics and democracy a matter of priority.

Chris Merritt is vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia