Dutton Walks Back Curriculum Overhaul Days Before Final Vote

The Liberal leader also said school funding would not decrease under a Coalition government.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaks at a press conference in Frankston, Australia, on April 30, 2025. Dan Peled/Getty Images

Two days before the election, Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton confirmed that the Coalition has no plans to change the national school curriculum.

This comes as he remarked multiple times during the campaign that students were being “indoctrinated” in classrooms.

Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane, Dutton said, “We don’t have any proposals.”

He added that if the Coalition wins, it will work with parents to reflect what they want to see in the education system, “and what is a good education for their children.”

Funding Won’t Fall, Dutton Says

Dutton said school funding would not decrease under a Coalition government.

“When we were last in government, despite what the prime minister has told you, the funding went from $13 billion to $25 billion a year, which is significant,” he said.

“So we’ll continue to fund education at a record rate, and we want our kids to get the best possible education.”

The national curriculum was last revised under the Morrison government, with a focus on literacy, numeracy, and foundational skills.

Curriculum Filled With ‘Woke Agendas’: Coalition

The backdown follows a series of comments in March and April where Dutton pledged to “restore” the curriculum and claimed students were being influenced by political agendas.

“You have seen other academics that are out as part of protests on the streets, and teachers similarly, and that is being translated into the classroom. That is not something I support,” Dutton said.

“I support young Australians being able to think freely … and not being told and indoctrinated by something that is the agenda of others.”

In his budget reply, he had promised to “restore a curriculum that teaches the core fundamentals in our classrooms” and to promote “critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and common sense.”

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson was also critical of the curriculum and said it was placing an excessive workload on teachers and hinted the party would announce further plans during the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Australian Education Union said the Coalition must “come clean” on its curriculum stance and dismissed its comments about “woke agendas” as false.

“With only days to go and millions of Australians having already voted, they have failed to outline the actual changes they will make to the Australian curriculum, if elected to government,” AEU president Correna Haythorpe said.

Meanwhile, Labor has signed new school funding agreements with every state and territory as part of full and fair funding as set out in the Gonski review.