Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Acting Federal Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert announces a new Holocaust Memorial is coming to Darwin

Transcript

Acting Federal Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert announces a new Holocaust Memorial is coming to Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that it has been announced this morning that
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Australia is going to have a Holocaust memorial in each
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: state and territory after the Morrison government committed seven hundred
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and fifty thousand dollars towards the establishment of a Holocaust
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: museum in Darwin. Now the Treasurer Josh Friedenberg is expected
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: to be in Darwin today for the announcement. But joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now is the acting Federal
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  Speaker 1: Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert. Good morning to you.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Good morning minister. Hopefully I've got you there you do.
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  Speaker 2: Indeed, good morning to you.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister. What's been behind the drive to establish this
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  Speaker 1: memorial in Darwen and why had the Northern Territory been
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  Speaker 1: without a Holocaust museum until now.
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  Speaker 2: This is the last of the museums to complete every
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  Speaker 2: state and territory, so that we've got a very visible
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  Speaker 2: representation of the horror of what the Nazi regime did
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  Speaker 2: as a crime against humanity, and they place for the
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  Speaker 2: submission not just to remember, but also to educate Australians
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  Speaker 2: about that horror and how it never needs to happen again.
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  Speaker 2: We've been working around the country to put in place
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  Speaker 2: these museums. The Northern Territory is just the last piece
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  Speaker 2: of the puzzle and great to join with the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory government on this.
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  Speaker 1: Now, where in Darwin is it going to be established
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  Speaker 1: and how exactly is it going to operate?
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  Speaker 2: The museum will actually be next to the current military
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  Speaker 2: museum and that it will go next door to that,
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  Speaker 2: and the intent is it'll be staffed and run as
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  Speaker 2: a professional museum, as a place where school students and
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  Speaker 2: indeed the general community can go along to be educated,
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  Speaker 2: to understand, to reflect upon what happened, why it happened,
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  Speaker 2: and to ensure it doesn't happen again. And if you
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  Speaker 2: think about and agreed through the Gandal Foundation's research that
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  Speaker 2: we put out last week, a quarter austrain In adults
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  Speaker 2: know nothing of the Holocaust and the destruction of six
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  Speaker 2: million Jewish people, and seventy percent of the entire population
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  Speaker 2: don't understand the Australian connection. So there is a need
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  Speaker 2: for education and this is another great piece in that puzzle.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's quite unbelievable, isn't it that seventy percent and
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  Speaker 1: not aware of Australia's connections to the Holocaust. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: has this gotten worse with time?
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  Speaker 2: Do you think? My understanding is it has and time
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  Speaker 2: does blur all things. I understand that. But there are
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  Speaker 2: some things that we should never forget, because if we
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  Speaker 2: forget our history, there is a chance, however slim, that
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  Speaker 2: we are destined as humanity to repeat that history. And
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  Speaker 2: it's why Holocaust history is so important to remember that
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  Speaker 2: a nation state and a Nazi regime would seek to
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  Speaker 2: exterminate a people for no other reason other than their
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  Speaker 2: faith is just extraordinary and it's important we understand that, understand,
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  Speaker 2: reflect and affirm this will never happen again.
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  Speaker 1: Now, how does the federal government view the importance of
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  Speaker 1: establishing memorials such as this? Obviously, but also side by
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  Speaker 1: side with what was experienced by Indigenous Australians in terms
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  Speaker 1: of the Stolen generation.
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  Speaker 2: The next step, of course governments working through is a
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  Speaker 2: suitable memorial and a resting place for Indigenous remains. There's
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  Speaker 2: been a topic of conversation for a long period of
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  Speaker 2: time and we're working our way through that in the
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  Speaker 2: nation's capital in Canberra, as we should, as is fitting
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  Speaker 2: and likewise, there's a very strong educational bent that moves
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  Speaker 2: through that. Now the national curriculum. Of course, education ministers
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  Speaker 2: have been working through very strongly recognized the wonderful Indigenous history,
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  Speaker 2: so Australian students can understand that history. So we're already
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  Speaker 2: cementing that through our educational system, which is important when
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  Speaker 2: it comes to the Holocaust, which is not a strong
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  Speaker 2: feature of our education system. It is featured, but nowhere
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  Speaker 2: near as strongly as Indigenous history as is understandable and
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  Speaker 2: as is appropriate. But this is where museums in locations
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  Speaker 2: are really really important.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that we've reached a point in Australia
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  Speaker 1: just on that indigenous issue? Do you think we've reached
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  Speaker 1: a point in Australia where it should you know that
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  Speaker 1: it should be a part of the curriculum and have
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  Speaker 1: to be a part of the curriculum to learn about
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  Speaker 1: our indigenous history.
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  Speaker 2: Ah, it is in but I read it last night.
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  Speaker 2: I'm preparing for Education ministers meeting this Friday when we'll
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  Speaker 2: move our way through the curriculum and Indigenous history is
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  Speaker 2: front and center, which is wonderful to see.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we know that you're very pressed for time this
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  Speaker 1: morning as we so we really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Stuart Robert, the acting Minister for Education and Youth. Before
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  Speaker 1: I let you go, mate, when is this election happening May?
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: While the Prime Minister said that the government will go
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: full term, and full term is somewhere near the end
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: of May. So if I was a betting man, and
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  Speaker 2: I'm not, I would suggest the Morrison government will live
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  Speaker 2: up to its pledge that we will go full term.
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  Speaker 2: We will govern and lead Australia through the pandemic as
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  Speaker 2: we have so strongly done. An end of May, the
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  Speaker 2: Australian people will be able to make a choice between
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: the government that has led strongly and delivered record unemployment
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  Speaker 2: down four point two percent, heading to a number three
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  Speaker 2: versus a flip flopping mister Albanesi, I think that'll be
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  Speaker 2: a worthy choice for territory instrument.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I tell you what, it's going to be an
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  Speaker 1: interesting couple of months, no doubt about it. Stuart Robert.
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  Speaker 1: We really appreciate you taking the time to have a
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  Speaker 1: quick chat with us this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Love the chat.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Thank you.