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Media ReleaseDISCOVERING DEMOCRACY May 8, 1997 K21/97 All students from Grade 4 to Year 10 will study the evolution of Australia’s democracy under the Federal Government’s new national civics education policy, the Minister for Schools, Dr David Kemp, announced today. Under the policy, Discovering Democracy, students will be surveyed each year to test their level of knowledge of the history and workings of Australia’s governments and democratic foundations. A Constitutional Commission report in 1988 found that 50% of the population did not know Australia had a written Constitution. A 1994 study discovered that 73% of people over 15 had a "total lack of knowledge" of the role of the Governor-General. Under the policy, a new national award will be established to recognise outstanding achievement by young Australians in civics education. The Discovering Democracy Award will be held annually from 1998. National finalists will be drawn from statewide and regional heats across the country. The Federal Government will provide $17.5 million in the next four years to establish the national civics curriculum. A five-member group of history, legal, political and education experts has been established to develop student learning materials by 1998. The curriculum will be introduced in schools from the start of 1999. The group members are: Dr John Hirst (chairman) one of Australia’s leading historians and Reader in History at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Professor Greg Craven, Foundation Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, Western Australia. Professor Stuart Macintyre, Ernest Scott Professor of Australian History at the University of Melbourne. Ms Susan Pascoe, co-ordinating chairperson (policy) Catholic Education Office, Melbourne. Dr Ken Boston, Director-General, NSW Department of School Education. Announcing the policy at the Curriculum Corporation Conference in Sydney, Dr Kemp said few young Australians realised they were heirs to one of the world’s most successful and pioneering democracies. "Australia is one of the world’s greatest democracies," Dr Kemp said. "Few young people realise Australia led the USA and Britain in democratic reform. We granted women voting rights 30 years before women got them nationally in Britain and the USA. Victoria pioneered secret voting at elections in 1856, which the USA later adopted as the Australian ballot system. "As we engage in a national debate about the future of our Constitution, it is vital that Australians have a sound knowledge and understanding of our systems of government. "Young Australians must gain a sound knowledge of the evolution of our pioneering democracy if its success and vigour is to survive in the next century." The civics curriculum will comprise four themes:
Students will study:
Dr Kemp said although Australia had established one of the world’s most successful democracies, there was a cost - the dispossession of the indigenous people. "Dealing with the consequences of the dispossession of the Aboriginal people has been one of the most significant issues for Australia’s democracy," he said. "For a long time, democracy in Australia, as in the USA, applied only to those of European origin. Australia eventually realised democrats cannot enjoy or justify their democratic principles if they do not apply to all people. Voting rights were eventually extended to Aboriginal people and the White Australia Policy was overturned. "We are still working through related issues today. Now, however, there is no dispute from any of the mainstream political parties in Australia that every Australian is entitled to equal rights and equal protection of the law regardless of race or background. "Australia’s democracy has gone far to achieve a model of social and human relationships which provides hope for a peaceful and harmonious world." Dr Kemp said he hoped Discovering Democracy would arrest a disturbing decline in the number of students studying Australian history. In Victoria, the number of Year 12 students studying Australian history has decreased from 25% in 1985 to 6% in 1995.Thirty years ago in NSW, 60% of students studied history. Last year, only 19% of Year 12 students in NSW studied Modern History. "The decline in the teaching and study of history in our schools is a matter of grave concern," Dr Kemp said. "The guardians of Australia’s future need to appreciate the social, economic and political forces which shaped our society if our nation’s democratic success and social harmony is to prosper. "The Federal Government is committed to the fundamental importance of education for a democracy."
Media inquiries: Michael Smith 016 287 494 or 0419 217 910.
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