According to the former prime minister Tony Abbott, left-wing instructors have sent Australian schools “back to the Middle Ages” by replacing learning with dogma and pursuing “heretics.”
The flaming conservative said that the radicalization of education by the left was so “pervasive” and “destructive” that it would take decades to undo the harm.
He also cautioned that conservatives were not exempt from responsibility for the spread of left-wing ideology, claiming that they were sometimes too polite to denounce the ‘palpable stupidity’ of activists.
At the right-wing CPAC gathering in Sydney, Mr. Abbott delivered the comments with fellow ardent conservative Amanda Stoker, a former senator from the Liberal Party.
He said that our educational system was the only place where “the protracted march of the left through our institutions… had been more ubiquitous and damaging.”
At the October 1 conference, Mr. Abbott said, “It’s almost like we’ve gone back to the Middle Ages where there is dogma, but it’s not Christian dogma, it’s anything but Christian dogma, with modern day inquisitions hunting down modern day heretics (and) if not burning them at the stake, at least canceling them.”
Mr. Abbott acknowledged that he did not share the fundamental ideas of left-wing doctrine.
“I don’t like the viral panic, and I don’t like the climate cult.” He stated, “I don’t understand the demand for gender flexibility.
He cautioned that fixing the condition of the schools would be a “multi-generational” effort that needed a cultural change.
Mr. Abbott added, “I worry it’s going to take us a long time to go back to where we should be. It took us a long time to get into this horrible situation.”
Mr. Abbott demanded more parental participation in education, more efforts to recruit the “best and brightest” individuals to the teaching profession, and “above all, more academic rigor.”
The “disinterested pursuit of truth” should be the focus of education, in his opinion.
“There must be this never-ending interest, what more can we learn?” How can we improve? he asked.
Mr. Abbott said that he thought campaigners had abused the ‘good manners’ of those who were aware of the ‘palpable folly’ of their left-wing ideas but were too polite to express it.
One of the things I often emphasize is that a majority that remains quiet won’t last for very long.
Good people have been too courteous when faced with situations that defy logic.
We can’t allow civility to prevent us from expressing our opinions or refuting obvious rubbish in a nice and respectable manner.
We have sometimes been too deferential. We have been astonishingly reluctant to act like the grownups we ought to be.
The former prime minister also argued vehemently against the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament, labeling it “discrimination.” The former prime minister, who was elected in 2013 but was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015 after a string of poor polls, won office in 2013.
To thunderous applause from the CPAC crowd in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, Mr. Abbott said, “Just because there may have been institutionalized discrimination in the past, that’s no reason to institutionalize discrimination in the present and the future.”
In order to create the special “Voice” body that would advise the federal parliament on issues important to Indigenous Australians, the Albanese government has pledged to hold a referendum on amending the constitution.
Mr. Abbott claimed that intimidation was being used to advance the Voice to Parliament.
We shouldn’t ever allow ourselves to be morally pressured into changing what works; instead, Mr. Abbott said, “let’s fix what doesn’t work.”
In an effort to make amends for improper behavior in the past, we shouldn’t abandon the fundamental values that have made our nation unique and priceless.
He said that Indigenous people should be elected “in the regular manner” if they weren’t properly represented in parliament.
According to Mr. Abbott, it wasn’t all bad news for the right side of politics.
Reality would always prevail over dogma, he said, sooner or later.
The panic about the (Covid) virus has now subsided.
The neurotic dread of dying gradually gave way to the desire to live properly.
The fixation with emissions will also come to an end when weather-dependent electricity cannot maintain the lights.
And when people are forced to choose between liberal democracy and its alternatives, the cultural self-loathing will end.
“Fighting the good battle, staying the course, and maintaining faith” are our duties.
the CPAC conference held on Darling Harbour in Sydney
Mr. Abbott delightedly recalled that he had not been very nice to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At a G20 summit of world leaders in 2014, Mr. Abbott vowed to “shirtfront” Mr. Putin over the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by rebels supported by Russia over eastern Ukraine in June.
It’s more common to see “shirtfronting” at a bar or on a soccer field, when rivals approach one another and finally stand toe-to-toe with their chests pushed out while screaming in each other’s faces.
Mr. Abbott took great pleasure in reminding the audience that he had threatened to use this barroom brawl strategy while discussing his best accomplishments in government.
He said, “Vladimir Putin was at least shirt-fronted albeit regrettably not overthrown.”