TV interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise – 4 September 2026

Media event date: 4 September 2026 Date published: 4 September 2026 Media type: General public NATALIE BARR, HOST: Australian teachers are fighting back after the Coalition accused schools of pushing an anti-boy agenda. Nationals leader Matt Canavan said boys are being lectured, not taught, and that the feminisation of the curriculum is driving young men towards toxic voices online.

Liberal leader Angus Taylor backed up his colleague, saying that an agenda is being run by some schools. But teachers say these claims are wrong and they're insulting. Let’s bring in Health Minister Mark Butler and Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume.

Good morning. Jane, we'll start with you. Do you back what your male colleagues have said about schools and whether they are running an anti-boy ideology?

SENATOR JANE HUME: Well Nat, let's begin by saying that 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.

But Matt was talking about his own experiences as a parent and the program that his son had been through and the conversation that he'd had with his own son. This doesn't need to be an attack on teachers, and we should be able to have a position to take a position on whether political activism is taking place in our classroom. That’s unacceptable.

Australian parents have the right to speak up about that. We want our children to go to school to learn how to think, not what to think. And if there is activism that's creeping into our classrooms or our curriculum, why not speak up about it? : Okay, so the Australian Education Union has fired back and said it's wrong, it's a display of complete ignorance.

So are you doubling down and saying that this state-funded Respectful Relationships curriculum is turning boys to harmful content online? : No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I think that the Respectful Relationship curriculum is important and teaching consent is really important, not just in our classrooms, but also at home. But saying that parents don't have a right to speak up if they feel that political activism is creeping into their classroom, creeping into their kids' curriculum is also wrong. : But do you think it is creeping into the classroom?

Do you think - : I don't know, but Matt does, and it was his child's experience. And if parents can't speak up, well then who will? : Okay. Okay, let's go to you, Mark.

Is it worth looking at our curriculum? Do you think this is a problem? Do you think some of what is being taught in some schools is driving young boys into listening to toxic influences online?

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: No, I don't at all. And good on Jane for backing in teachers and her sister in particular. But 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. Unfortunately, this is another example of One Nation telling the Liberal Party to jump and Angus Taylor saying how high. When Pauline Hanson accused teachers of brainwashing students, instead of calling her out, he's backed her in.

I've had kids go through school, I've got another little one starting school in a few months’ time, a little boy, I'm in constant awe of the work that teachers do. And I recognise it's a much harder job than it was when I was at school, frankly, because all of us are fighting this rear-guard action against big tech, and the monsters, frankly, who surf the algorithms to push this toxic mountain mess into the screens, particularly of our young boys.

Teaching respect to girls is not woke, it's not weak, it's not socialist. Frankly, it's just decency, and I think all of us are fighting this rear-guard action and having the alternative Prime Minister and alternative Deputy Prime Minister backing in our hero teachers would be a pretty good thing, frankly. : Moving on, the number of elderly Australians sitting in public hospitals, despite being medically cleared has soared in the past year with 3,900 Aussie stuck amid a shortage in aged care services.

Mark, so you're meeting with all the health ministers today, they're desperately calling for more at home support packages. What happens next? Where are we with this? : We'll have a good meeting I'm sure this morning about that and a whole range of other issues in the health system.

I think your viewers understand with the ageing of the baby boomers there are more older Australians in Australia, there are more in aged care, there are more waiting for aged care, and it stands to reason there unfortunately are more in our hospital system as well. We’re ploughing money into more support at home packages doing what we can to support providers to build new facilities, but we're experiencing unprecedented demand for those services.

So yeah, I've seen the story in the paper this morning. I get the issue, it's a very serious issue in our hospital system as it is in our broader aged care system, and I'm looking forward to the next several hours working with my health minister colleagues on things we can do to alleviate that pressure. : Yeah, Jane, you're hearing the stories too. We all are, anecdotal stories of people waiting months and months and months even for assessment for the aged care packages and then having to go and sort out the providers and sometimes throwing their hands in the air.

What do you think the answer is or is it too complicated for one answer? : It was entirely predictable. In fact, Mark even predicted it. He knew that there was going to be pressure on the health system.

He knew that there was going to be pressure on the aged care system with the ageing population, and yet there was funds that were cut from residential aged care. And home care packages are well behind the eight ball. They simply haven't kept up with the demand.

There's an enormous wait list for those home care packages and you can't claim to have fixed the health care system if you've got our parents, our grandparents sitting in hospital beds waiting for a residential aged care bed because Labor has failed to meet the demand and anticipate that demand and has indeed cut funding where it's needed the most. : Mark, is the assessment process for home care packages too complicated and two long winded? : Wait times for assessments are down very, very substantially.

People who need an aged care package at home urgently are getting it within a month. As I said, we've got unprecedented demand, but our assessment system is working better than it was. We've ploughed more packages into the system.

Last year they were increased by 25 per cent, but we are all struggling to keep up with the demand to give the care and support that older Australians deserve at a time when it is increasing just so fast as those older baby boomers start to hit the aged care system as they are right now. : Okay. Well, good luck with the meeting with the health ministers. We thank you both for your time.

We'll see you next week. The Hon Mark Butler MP Young people's health Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past and present. © Commonwealth of Australia