Coalition Plan to Cut Curriculum Priorities and Push Western Values

Julian Leeser used a speech to an education conference in Sydney on Saturday, September 19, 2026, to unveil the Coalition's proposal to remove three cross-curriculum priorities from the Australian Curriculum and refocus schooling around "national pride" and "Western values".

The three slated for removal are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Australia's engagement with Asia, and sustainability. The Guardian

These are not standalone subjects. Under the Australian Curriculum they work like threads woven through English, history, science and other subjects to enrich the normal content.

Leeser said the three areas should instead be taught as discrete, planned topics inside history, geography or science. That would shift them from an approach applied across subjects to separate units inside specific subjects.

On substance, Leeser said students should learn the foundations of Western culture including democracy, the rule of law and "a fair go". He said Australian students should learn Indigenous heritage, British foundation and multicultural character as three strands of history.

The speech went beyond curriculum. Leeser also outlined a package on teacher supply, classroom standards and student outcomes.

That package includes streamlined pathways to make it easier for mid-career Australians to become teachers. It includes action on student behaviour, less screen time and AI use, and better outcomes for boys.

Leeser floated the idea of helping veterans become teachers to support classroom behaviour and Australian values. He framed it as an idea, not a finalised program.

Results and rationale

Leeser tied the curriculum case to performance. The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment results, released in early September 2026, found Australia dropped to its worst-ever results for maths and reading. Classroom disruption in Australia remained among the worst in the world.

The opposition education spokesman said Indigenous history and cultural studies must be pared back as test results fall, according to The Sydney Morning Herald reporting of the September 19 plan under the headline "Pride in flag, Western culture, and soldiers in schools".

Leeser is the Federal Member for Berowra and holds the shadow education portfolio as of September 2026.

Why the messenger matters

He resigned from the shadow cabinet in 2023 to campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

At the 2026 Garma Festival, Leeser said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lost his way on Indigenous affairs since the Voice referendum. On September 14, he said belittling Indigenous culture attacks part of what makes Australia great.

Leeser apologised to the Indian community over Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's comments on Indian migration. He previously served as Shadow Attorney-General.

The broader context here is that this history will shape how Canberra hears the proposal. A call to unwind these priorities lands differently from a former Voice supporter than from a culture-war sceptic.

In my view, that record cuts both ways. It gives the Coalition a shield against claims of hostility to Indigenous content. It also exposes Leeser to questions about consistency.

Looking at what this means for the politics, the language does a lot of work. "National pride" and "Western values" are broad phrases. Teachers will want detail. Which units move, which stay, who decides, and what gets assessed? The promise of discrete, planned topics sounds orderly. The test will be whether anything leaves classroom practice or is simply relabelled.

The political calculation here is fairly plain. Mid-career entry and veterans in schools tackle supply and behaviour together. Limits on screens and AI speak to a daily staffroom grievance. A focus on boys names a group of growing concern. Each bit is modest alone. Together they let the Coalition argue decline is about culture and order, not just funding.

The claim to watch here is the link between breadth and results. The usual Canberra routine is the government says X; the figures show Y. Here the Coalition says curriculum breadth is part of the performance problem. The PISA figures show decline. They do not by themselves show cause. Expect Labor, the states, teacher unions and curriculum specialists to contest that link hard, and for debate to turn quickly to who controls what in a federated system.