Peter Dutton drops vow to change school curriculum, after 'indoctrination' claimsBy political reporter Jake EvansTopic:Public Schools45m ago45 minutes agoWed 30 Apr 2025 at 11:39pmOpposition Leader Peter Dutton will not pursue changes to the school curriculum. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)In short:The Coalition will not pursue its stated plan to "restore ... common sense" to the curriculum.Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously claimed students were "indoctrinated" by educators.What's next?Voters will head to the polls on Saturday, May 3.abc.net.au/news/dutton-drops-school-curriculum-indoctrination-woke-agenda/105237316Link copiedShareShare articleOpposition Leader Peter Dutton has dropped his vow to change the national school curriculum, after comments earlier in the campaign that students should be able to think freely without being "indoctrinated" by educators.Mr Dutton confirmed this morning "we don't have any proposal to change the curriculum", despite saying in his budget reply address just a month ago that "a Dutton Coalition government will restore a curriculum that teaches the core fundamentals in our classrooms".The Opposition Leader in March promised to rewrite the curriculum to cultivate "critical thinking, responsible citizenship and common sense".Stay updated:Federal election live updates: Get the latest news from the campaign trailCatch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on ABC iview and ABC ListenThe backdown comes just two days before voters head to the polls.Earlier in the campaign, he claimed students were being "indoctrinated" by their teachers."You have seen other academics that are out as part of protests on the streets, and teachers similarly, and that is been translated into the classroom. That is not something I support. I support young Australians being able to think freely ... and not being told and indoctrinated by something that is the agenda of others," Mr Dutton said."Our position will reflect community standards in relation to what is being taught at our schools and our universities."Read more about the federal election:Strange 'ballot-fellows' revealed on parties' how-to-vote cardsHow the Greens rebranded from environmental activists to the 'party of renters'The key election promises from Labor and the CoalitionWant even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 federal election coverageMr Dutton implied that school funding could be conditional to the Coalition's curriculum changes being adopted, but later clarified that was not something the opposition intended to pursue.The Coalition's Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson said in early April that the curriculum was "imposing many additional hours of work, and we don't think that's good enough, and we'll have more to say about that during the campaign".But with just two days before the official polling day, education groups had begun to accuse the party of "hiding" its plans on the curriculum.Yesterday the Australian Education Union said the Coalition must "come clean" on its plans for the national curriculum, also rejecting claims of "indoctrination and woke agendas" as false."With only days to go and millions of Australians having already voted, they have failed to outline the actual changes they will make to the Australian curriculum, if elected to government," AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said.As successive polls have reported the Coalition trailing behind Labor, Mr Dutton has shown a willingness to jettison the party's policy commitments.Just one week into the federal election campaign Mr Dutton dumped the party's unpopular plan to force public servants back to the office "five days a week", saying it had listened to voters on the matter.Loading...Having trouble seeing this form? 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