Mark Butler hits back at Angus Taylor over school culture row and declares teaching boys respect is ‘not woke’
Health Minister Mark Butler has fired back at claims schools are pushing an anti-boy agenda, declaring teaching young men to respect women is ‘not woke’.
Health Minister Mark Butler has hit back at claims that schools are pushing an anti-boy ideology, declaring that teaching young men to respect women is “not woke” as a political fight over what Australian children are being taught intensifies.
The fiery defence of teachers came after Liberal leader Angus Taylor backed concerns raised by Nationals senator Matt Canavan about political activism creeping into classrooms.
Speaking on Sunrise on Friday, Mr Butler rejected suggestions that school programs could be driving young boys towards toxic influences online, instead pointing the finger at Big Tech and algorithms targeting young people.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Teaching respect for girls is not woke. It’s not weak. It’s not socialist, frankly. It’s just decency,” Mr Butler said.
The Health Minister said teachers and parents were facing an increasingly difficult battle against harmful material reaching children through their screens.
“I’m in constant awe of the work that teachers do, and I recognise it’s a much harder job than it was when I was at school, frankly, because all of us are fighting this rearguard action against Big Tech and the monsters, frankly, who surf the algorithms to push this toxic mess into the screens, particularly of our young boys.”
Mr Butler also accused Mr Taylor of following One Nation’s lead on the increasingly heated debate over Australian classrooms.
“Unfortunately, this is another example of One Nation telling the Liberal Party to jump and Angus Taylor saying how high?” he said.
“When Pauline Hanson accused teachers of brainwashing students instead of calling her out, he’s backed her in.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume defended the right of parents to raise concerns about what their children were being taught, but stopped short of personally endorsing claims political activism was creeping into classrooms.
“We want our children to go to school, to learn how to think, not what to think,” Senator Hume said.
“If there is activism that’s creeping into our classrooms or our curriculum, why not speak up about it?”
However, when host Natalie Barr directly asked whether she believed that was happening, Senator Hume replied: “No, but Matt does, and it was his child’s experience. And if parents can’t speak up, well then who will?”
Senator Hume also backed respectful relationships and consent education, saying it was “important” for those lessons to be taught both at school and at home.
The Australian Education Union has rejected claims schools are pushing an anti-boy ideology, describing the criticism as wrong and a display of “complete ignorance”.
The debate follows growing political scrutiny over the influences shaping young Australian boys, with the Coalition raising concerns about classroom content while Labor argues online platforms and toxic algorithms represent the greater threat.
