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| Down Under |
| Call to teach Australian-U.S war relations in High Schools |
| 2005-08-22 |
| THE United States' role in defending Australia in World War II should be better taught in Australian secondary schools, federal Treasurer Peter Costello said today. Referring to his weekend comments about the need to stamp-out anti-American sentiment in Australia, Mr Costello said many young Australians did not know how the United States had helped defend their country. "I think it's important that Australians know that in 1941 and 1942, when Australia faced its gravest security crisis, when our country was being bombed, when we were at threat of invasion, when the sea lanes and the air lanes were being dominated by a hostile aggressor at war with us, Australian soldiers stood in defence of this country and they stood in defence of this country with our ally the United States," he said. "And if it had not of been for that alliance, then the war would not have turned when it did in 1942 and the war wouldn't have ended in the way in which it did in 1945. "That is a key event in Australian history and I think that young people ought to know it. "I don't think the story of the defence of Australia in the Second World War is well enough understood in secondary schools." Mr Costello said the answer was to ensure the complete story of Australia's defence was taught. "I think the Anzac story is taught well, I think it's well known by young people, but I'm not sure Kokoda, victory in the Coral Sea, the island campaign of (US General Douglas) MacArthur, the Australian-American alliance is taught as well as it should be, that's my point." |
| Posted by:Wheresh Ebback3540 |
| #5 Here in Australia, the Leftist influence is probably more pervasive than in the USA. The media is more concentrated, the role of government larger and counter views like blogs are fewer and far less influential. An example is that I get 6 free to air TV channels, 3 of which are government funded, which I refer to as the Leftwing news, the really Leftwing news and the channel nobody watches. The Howard government has been slowly rolling back the traditional Australian Statist model. He has been particularly succesful in education, by allowing government funding of private schools and forcing through clear measures of school performance, such that parents can choose which schools to send their kids to. The opposition Labour party tried to make this an issue in the last election and it came badly unstuck for them. I'm a little surprised that Costello is pushing this issue. He is considered to be to the left of John Howard, although Howard's nominated successor. Then again parental choice in education is a popular issue here and the Howard government is good at instagating what I call stealth processes that have strong public support and that leave the Left calling for things the public don't want. This may be part of a process to give parents more control over school curriculums. BTW, Costello maintains that all politics is demographics. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-08-22 17:14 |
| #4 "THE United States' role in defending Australia in World War II should be better taught in Australian secondary schools, federal Treasurer Peter Costello said today." Hell, they should teach that in American schools as well! |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2005-08-22 14:48 |
| #3 Y'mean the Aussies wouldn't have enjoyed being subjects of His Imperial Majesty, Hirohito? I'm SHOCKED! |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-08-22 12:37 |
| #2 Any Aussies on this site? Have the liberals taken over the education system in Australia like the have in the U.S.? Here it is their last bastion of control, indoctrinating the youth with their maligned socialist values and teaching a hatred of liberty and the American way of life. We have rooted them out of nearly every other institution and they have dug into the education system deeper than ticks on a hound. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-08-22 11:40 |
| #1 I'm thinking this would quickly be turned into a "Japan would never have attacked Australia if the US hadn't antagonized them" deal. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-08-22 09:44 |