IN HOWARD’S FASCIST AUSTRALIA STUDENTS WILL BE TOLD WHAT LITERATURE THEY MAY STUDY AND HOW THEY STUDY IT

John Howard plans to take the country another step down the road toward his carefully planned New Fascist Australia. As today’s article in The Australian[1] explains, Australian Prime Minister John Howard is considering cutting funding to schools that insist on teaching literature that the Prime Minister says ‘succumbs to political correctness’.

Howard apparently doesn’t understand the way literature is being taught today. He says that it is ‘gobbledegook’ and asks what ‘does it mean to have an outcomes-based education system’. (This, mind you, comes from a man who is unable to read cables, memorandums and reports from his senior public servants and diplomats.)

In June 2004, in an earlier step in Howard’s march toward his New Fascist Australia, Howard took the education system to task over not flying the Australian flag at schools, threatening to cut funding to those schools that continued not to fly the flag. At the same time he demanded that schools ensure that children undertake at least a minimum of two hours of physical activity a week.[2] (Some may ask, ‘what’s wrong with that?’ and, of course the answer is: in itself, nothing. It’s just that it comes from Howard who is not an expert in kidz physical health but is an expert in stick and carrot fascism. In other words, it’s an attitude thing.) Howard stopped short of tying funding to the singing of Australia’s national anthem every morning at school though he did mention that he would prefer it if they did.

And in a piece today, written by Howard and published in the Sydney Morning Herald,[3] Howard makes it clear that he is likely to be around at least for the next election to ensure that Australia continues its march toward his New Fascist Australia.


ENDNOTES
[1] Steve Lewis and Imre Salusinszky, ‘PM canes ‘rubbish’ postmodern literature’, The Australian, 21 April 2006. Available online: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18878087-601,00.html Accessed 21 April 2006.
[2] Aban Contractor, ‘PM unfurls his patriotic schools agenda’, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 2004. Available online: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/22/1087844943682.html Accessed 21 April 2006.
[3] John Howard, ‘A road map to guide the nation into a bright future’, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 April 2006. Available online: http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-road-map-to-guide-the-nation-into-a-bright-future/2006/04/20/1145344214082.html Accessed 21 April 2006.