Future of Our Children

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (15:48): I rise to speak today about the future of our children. I want to share my views about education in this state and why we owe it to our young people to do better. Education is one of the most important aspects of any society. It is the foundation on which we build our future and it is essential that we ensure that our children receive the best possible education.

Unfortunately, the state of education standards in South Australia has been declining in recent years. According to the latest data, South Australia ranks below the national average in both literacy and numeracy. This is a worrying trend and we need to take decisive and immediate action to reverse it. The breadth of the curriculum in schools and how it is impacting the depth of learning and understanding is part of the challenge our teachers and students face—also, a left-wing agenda is playing a significant role in the decline.

In recent years, there has been a push towards a wider range of subjects, with schools incorporating more subjects into a child's day. Whilst this approach may seem well intentioned, it is causing a significant impact on the depth of learning and understanding. When we focus on teaching a large number of subjects, we run the risk of spreading ourselves too thin. The result is that students end up with a superficial understanding of each subject rather than a deep and meaningful understanding.

Children are taught that everything is about race, gender and sexuality. They are taught to view the world through the lens of identity politics rather than as individuals with unique experiences and perspectives. This narrow-minded view of the world is not only harmful to the individual but is also detrimental to society as a whole.

I call on this government to strike a balance between the breadth and depth of the curriculum. We must focus on teaching a smaller number of subjects in greater depth; and we must teach them to think critically, to value diversity and to respect others, regardless of their identity. Only then can we create a truly inclusive society that values individuality and promotes understanding.

We need a much stronger focus on early childhood education. Research has shown that early childhood education is critical for a child's development, and it can have a significant impact on their academic performance later in life. We need to ensure that all children in South Australia have access to high-quality early childhood education, particularly in the regions where families are not always able to access early childhood education and long day care facilities.

I call on this government to ensure we are providing our teachers with the resources and support they need to do their jobs effectively. Children should not be disadvantaged because of where they live and what their parents can afford. As a wealthy state we should be ensuring that all children receive a quality education, regardless of the circumstances they are born into. Labor has been in government for much of the last 20 years and the education system has suffered at their hands.

I call on this government to consider another small but significant way to see an enormous improvement in our schools, to take pressure off families that are buckling under soaring power prices, inflation and rising interest rates. Providing healthy snacks or lunch to kids at school, particularly in low socio-economic areas, is one thing we can do for the young people in our state. It is well known that good nutrition plays a crucial role in a child's overall development, including their physical and mental health and their academic performance. However, not all children have access to nutritious food at home, and this is where governments can step in to help.

By providing healthy lunch or snacks at school, children from low socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to receive a nutritious meal that they may not get at home. This not only improves their physical health but also helps to level the playing field for academic performance. When children are well fed and not hungry, they are more likely to concentrate better in class, retain information and are more capable of moderating their behaviour.

We must work towards creating a more equitable education system, where all children have access to the same opportunities regardless of their background. This, coupled with a back-to-basics approach to our curriculum and the end of the politically-fuelled indoctrination of our young people, should see South Australia lead the charge in our country in terms of education standards.

It saddens me to think that Australia was ranked 39 out of 41 OECD countries by UNICEF. I call on this government to make the changes needed in South Australia to ensure we lead by example, so that we are not at the bottom of the rankings any longer than we have to be.