Chris Smith:
Well, according to one education researcher, it is all connected. Dr. Bella d’Abrera’s new book, Mindless: How the Education System is Indoctrinating Children and Destroying Our Civilization, argues Australian schools have shifted away from teaching knowledge and critical thinking and pushing into political activism. She claims activism is now embedded across the curriculum. The Institute of Public Affairs Researcher says literacy and numeracy standards are falling while classrooms are becoming more focused on political and social causes. Dr. Bella d’Abrera, author of the new book, Mindless, is on the line right now. Bella, thank you very much for your time.
Bella d’Abrera:
Thank you for having me on, Chris.
Chris Smith:
That’s okay. We’ve spoken about this in times previous, and you’ve been one of the foremost researchers in this country, looking critically at what’s being taught in the classroom. So I just wanted to state that from the get-go, so that our listeners understand what you have found is worth listening to. At what point does teaching children about social issues, though, become activism?
Bella d’Abrera:
Well, it becomes activism as soon as you start teaching them that the planet is hurtling towards an apocalypse because they’re not recycling. It becomes activism when you tell children that they need to judge each other by the colour of their skin. And it becomes activism when you tell them that Australia was invaded in 1788, and they need to apologise for the actions of people who lived over 250 years ago. There is activism embedded in the national curriculum that’s inescapable for any child now going to school in Australia, from primary school all the way up to secondary school, to university. They get the same ideology, the same political activism.
Chris Smith:
So you’re not suggesting that these are rogue teachers or rogue principals imploring classes to be taught this stuff. You’re saying it’s embedded in the curriculum, the written curriculum.
Bella d’Abrera:
It is. And it’s worse than that. It’s not only embedded, but it’s government-mandated. So the government isn’t just allowing this to happen, it’s making sure that it happens. And that’s a really important distinction for parents to understand. So I often talk about the fact that this is now starting in Australia in kindergartens. The activism and the politicisation is mandated through the early learning syllabus that the government has put together, and it’s aimed at zero to five-year-olds, and it’s mandated in all learning centres across Australia.
And within that document, teachers are encouraged and almost ordered to turn very, very small children into political activists, and they use the words to put them on the path to reconciliation. They are talking to them about very, very adult concepts around race and gender, and sex. And this is being done deliberately, and parents really need to take an interest in what’s going on in not just primary school and secondary school, but also kindergartens.
Chris Smith:
Activism is an interesting term because I find that, and this is through the children that I have had at school and the children that I have at school, my kids often… I ask them what they’re being taught about these issues, and they talk about sustainability, they talk about climate change, et cetera. And I say, have you been taught that because we are very small emitters in this country, we can stop CO2 emissions entirely today and make no difference to the planet? Well, none of them have been told that side of the story. And that’s when it becomes activism, right?
Bella d’Abrera:
That’s right. And what I say, my if with the national curriculum is that it is very one-sided political activism. They never hear anything, as you say, to the contrary of what they’re being taught. So they only hear one side of things, which is their actions are contributing towards climate change, which is ultimately going to end our world as we know it. And they are absolutely worried to death about their actions and the fact that they think that they’re causing the end of the world. And this is what I think it’s cruelty. I think it’s cruel to children to burden them with this kind of responsibility.
Chris Smith:
I couldn’t agree more. Couldn’t agree more.
Bella d’Abrera:
And the same goes for history. They’ve been taught the history of Australia from a very, very skewed and very political point of view, which is this notion of an invasion and the fact that we need to decolonize the curriculum and we need to adopt other knowledges, indigenous knowledges, instead of Western science. And they never hear an alternative. And I think that’s where the tragedy is, that the children think that that is the truth. That is their worldview, and that’s what they’re being taught in the schools.
Chris Smith:
And rarely told what has been so beneficial to our society from the arrival of the first fleet. Never is that sort of raised either.
Bella d’Abrera:
No, never.
Chris Smith:
And tell me, literacy and numeracy results in this country at the moment. The international standard is so low, and it has been that way for about 18 years. And you sort of scratch your head, and you think to yourself, “Why is that?” Do you link that kind of activism that you’ve detected in the curriculum to those low results?
Bella d’Abrera:
Look, it’s one of the factors. It’s an unavoidable factor is that schools are now prioritising this political activism over literacy and numeracy. And this is not just guesswork because they’ve actually called them priorities in the national curriculum. They didn’t call them options. So what’s happening is that teachers are being told to prioritise sustainability and Aboriginal issues over literacy and numeracy. And in fact, the problem is that the teachers, the trainee teachers that have to go through the university system, that have to go through the wokest university departments in the entire country, are taught activism instead of skills.
So they don’t know how to teach the skills to the children because they’re being taught activism in the university education department. So it’s this vicious cycle, and it’s a real problem because they are not focused on teaching children the basics. We’re at a stage now in our society where it’s sending your child is no longer a guarantee that they’ll emerge at the other end, literate and numerate and with enough knowledge to navigate life.
They will be able to tell you a lot about climate change, that we had to write a clever placard for a school strike for climate march and they’ll be to tell you about what it’s like to be a transgender ally. But they certainly won’t be able to put a budget together or fill out a tax return or write letters or even apply for jobs because they just don’t have the literacy and the numeracy.
Chris Smith:
Yeah. The life skills that they need are sadly lacking, and they seem to be creating activists to go onto university and continue the wokeness seems to be emphatic at the moment. I appreciate your time. It’s a really good talk point, and no doubt we’ll have some calls on this. Bella, thank you very much for your time.
Bella d’Abrera:
Thank you so much.
Chris Smith:
No problem, Dr. Bella d’Abrera. New book, Mindless: How the Education System is Indoctrinating Children and Destroying Our Civilization.
This transcript with Dr Bella d’Arbrera talking on Mornings with Chris Smith 2SM from 4 June 2026 has been edited for clarity.
