Question Time in Australia's Federal Parliament is hardly a place for elevated discussion -- after all, this is when spurious references to Judas, Dr. Goebbels and the Nazis fly about like confetti.
Still, it would be better if Prime Minister Tony Abbott did not use the parliamentary session as an opportunity to make light of a serious problem: The future of skilled, tech-savvy labour in Australia.
On Wednesday, Bill Shorten, the leader of the Labor Party and Australia's opposition, asked the prime minister whether he would commit to supporting Labor's push to have coding taught in every primary school in Australia. This is an important step, he said, "to ensure our children have the skills for the jobs of the future economy." Shorten posted the video on his Facebook page.
Instead of taking the question with any gravity -- because, um, making sure Australia's children grow up to get good jobs in a decent economy is about 90% of his job -- Abbott instead displayed utter ignorance.
"Let's just understand exactly what the leader of the opposition has asked," Abbott replied. "Do you want to send them all out to work at the age of 11? ... Is that what he wants to do? I mean seriously? Seriously?"
Seriously?
If this isn't enough to strike fear in the heart of every startup and entrepreneur looking to grow in Australia, not sure what is.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));In Question Time today, I asked Tony Abbott if he would commit to Labor’s plan for coding to be taught in every primary and secondary school in Australia. His answer tells you everything you need to know about Tony Abbott’s plan for skilling future generations for the jobs of the future. Only Labor has a plan for a modern, smart and fair Australia.Posted by Bill Shorten MP on Tuesday, May 26, 2015