MP Bows out of Parliament, Praised for Calling out Political Correctness in Schools

Australian Education Minister Alan Tudge speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 23, 2021. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

Former prime ministers have heaped praise on retiring MP Alan Tudge for his courage in speaking out against political correctness in schools.

Tudge, the former education minister, announced his retirement from politics on Feb. 9, citing health and family reasons.

In a speech to Parliament, the member for Aston said he made the decision following his father’s passing earlier this year.

“It’s not been an easy decision for me, but it is necessary for my health and for my family, amongst other reasons,” he said. “I certainly have not taken this decision lightly.”

“My daughters who are 18 and 16 know nothing other than their dad being away. They’ve had to put up with things that no teenager should have to, including death threats, the most recent of which was last week,” he said.

“While this profession can be unforgiving at times, serving as a member of parliament, though, has been one of the greatest honours of my life.”

A Difficult Time in Parliament

Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard said he was “genuinely sorry” Tudge was retiring.

“Few education ministers in recent years have been as willing as Alan Tudge to call out politically correct manipulation of school curricula,” he said. ”The Parliament and the Liberal Party is the poorer for his departure.”

While former Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Tudge was willing to call out flaws in the “incorrigibly politically correct national curriculum” and that if he had more time as education minister, he would have vetoed it.

“Perhaps it was the threat of this that motivated the ABC’s hit job on him,” Abbott said.

“Unlike most ministers, he didn’t let the public service do his thinking for him. And he didn’t think that ministers’ job was just to follow ‘official advice,’” he added.

Tudge stepped down from Cabinet after being accused of emotionally and physically abusing his former staffer Rachelle Miller, in a report broken by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners.

Tudge and Miller were in a consensual relationship at the time.

In March 2022, an investigation cleared Tudge of any wrongdoing, yet he decided not to return to Cabinet. He has always denied the claims of abuse.

More recently, Tudge was called to give evidence at a Royal Commission into the robodebt scheme, which issued a series of incorrect debt notices while claiming back over a billion in funds.

Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a “difficult day and a difficult decision” for the MP to step down.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Mr Tudge.

“The member for Aston has been very lucky—one term in opposition and three terms as a minister. I’m in my third term as a minister, and I’ve been here since last century,” he told Parliament.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said Tudge had a significant career.

“He does have a great intellect and appetite for nothing more than seeing what is in our country’s best interests,” he said.

Tudge’s seat of Aston, in east Melbourne, will be up for a by-election. The MP held the seat by a thin 2.8 percent margin after a swing of seven percent at the May 2022 election.