Coalition divisions multiply over latest classroom culture war

September 4, 2026 — 11:07amThe Liberal Party’s most senior woman has downplayed her Coalition partner’s attack on Australia’s school curriculum, arguing Nationals leader Matt Canavan was speaking from personal experience when he claimed respectful relationships education was pushing an “anti-boy ideology”.As federal Labor ministers join an emergency roundtable on sexual violence on Friday to discuss a string of schoolboys accused of rape, the Coalition remains caught between combatting One Nation’s populist wave and recapturing moderate voters that have fled to the teals.Deputy opposition leader Jane Hume, left, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, centre, and Nationals leader Matt Canavan at a press conference in Melbourne earlier this week.Ruby AlexanderDeputy Liberal leader Jane Hume on Friday disagreed that the nation’s curriculum was pushing boys towards harmful online content, as Canavan had claimed earlier in the week, but said the senator had the right to discuss his child’s education.“Matt was talking about his own experiences as a parent and the program that his son had been through,” she told Channel Seven’s breakfast show Sunrise.“If there is activism that’s creeping into our classrooms or our curriculum, why not speak up about it?”Opposition Leader Angus Taylor refused three times on Thursday to explicitly say consent education should be taught in schools when asked on ABC TV. At a press conference later that day, he agreed consent should be taught, but said too many teachers were pushing their own agendas.Asked on Friday morning whether she thought that political activism was creeping into schools, Hume said: “I don’t know, but Matt does … and if parents can’t speak up, well, then who will?”Hume, who co-authored a 2022 internal review warning the Coalition was failing to win over women voters, did not directly address Taylor’s claim that teachers were pushing their own agendas in classrooms, but defended the work of educators.“Teachers do an incredible job in Australia. My sister’s a teacher, and I have to say, I see the dedication that she has to the students in her charge. She goes well above and beyond the call of duty, and for that, I think she’s just awesome,” Hume said.“This doesn’t need to be an attack on teachers, and we should be able to ... take a position on whether political activism is taking place in our classroom. That’s unacceptable.”Health Minister Mark Butler rejected Hume’s framing.“Matt wasn’t just talking as a parent; he was talking as Australia’s alternative deputy prime minister, and Angus Taylor was talking as Australia’s alternative prime minister,” he said, appearing alongside Hume on Sunrise.“Unfortunately, this is another example of One Nation telling the Liberal Party to jump, and Angus Taylor saying, ‘How high?’”Butler echoed Education Minister Jason Clare by blaming social media companies for pushing harmful content onto young boys.“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,” he said.“Teaching respect for girls is not woke. It’s not weak. It’s not socialist. Frankly, it’s just decency.”The Australian Education Union attacked the Coalition’s leadership for appearing to follow Pauline Hanson’s lead, after the One Nation leader said in August that parents should confront principals who were “brainwashing” children.“These comments are either a malevolent mischaracterisation of Australia’s education system for political gain, or a display of complete ignorance of how the teaching profession operates,” AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said in a statement.Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston was also quizzed over Taylor’s comments on Friday, and said she worked with consent advocate Chanel Contos to ensure respectful values were taught when she was social services minister.“I think that that was what Angus was referring to, as the very strong need to make sure respectful behaviours are taught to young people because respectful young people usually turn into respectful older people,” the opposition health spokeswoman told Radio National.Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.From our partners