At this Centre for Independent Studies forum, Shadow Federal Minister for Education Senator Jonathon Duniam presented the Coalition’s approach to reforming Australian education, before joining CIS Education Director Glenn Fahey for a wide-ranging Q&A with attendees.
Senator Duniam argued that after twenty years of record spending, Australian students are falling further behind their international peers — with one in three Year 9 students below minimum reading and writing standards. The problem isn’t funding, but how we spend it. The real reform must focus on teacher training, a simplified evidence-based curriculum, and classroom fundamentals.
Glenn Fahey outlined CIS’s long history challenging assumptions in education policy — from advancing phonics-based reading instruction to early numeracy screening in Australian schools. The discussion explored the politicised and overloaded national curriculum, declining teacher quality, the importance of civics education, and the need to address boys’ underperformance.
Senator Duniam committed to working constructively with Education Minister Jason Clare in the national interest, focusing on what works rather than partisan point-scoring, and emphasised the Coalition’s vision for aspiring to better outcomes rather than accepting mediocrity.
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