When ideology and informed decision-making collide: The Galileo Effect

The 2013 Gonski educational reforms were arguably one of the most important policy achievements in Australian education since the Dawkins reorganisation of higher education in 1988. Certainly they were critical to the future of school education in this country. For the uninitiated, the reforms were the result of the deliberations of a politically bipartisan and highly informed panel. While their findings were far reaching, the central focus of the reforms was about equity and a national funding model that would ensure greater educational equality for our nation’s young. The former Labor government implemented policy based on the panel’s findings at the end of their term in office this year. Largely the funding model has been accepted by most states including those with non-Labor governments such as NSW.

Yesterday the new Liberal (this means right wing in Australia for any international readers) Federal Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne announced, to all intents and purposes that these reforms would be scrapped after the first year of funding. This, despite a commitment before the election that the reforms would be accepted, although this sort of back flip on pre-election promises is normal in politics around the world, so no surprises there. There is a case I think for something like a pre-nuptial agreement to be applied to politicians in the event that they don’t keep their vows!

What was really disturbing though, is that when questioned Pyne said that the Gonski reforms had nothing to do with equity, which is exactly what they were about. Worse though was that when pressed he said that he did not believe that equity was a problem in education in Australia.

Making decisions on the basis of beliefs rather than facts is indeed part of the human condition and well known in mainstream psychology. But one would expect better from our leaders. Or should we? They are human after all.

So, leaders are just as prone to make decisions based on ideology than they are on the findings of an expert panel with access to all the facts and information in their decision-making process. Leaders then can ignore all that and let ideology rule.

As well as education, this government has already waged war on scientific establishments and funding in its short term in office, shutting down many peak bodies or reducing their capacity. Human influenced climate change, despite the evidence, does not exist for this government-presumaby it is God's will. Is it no surprise to find that the leader, PM Tony Abbott is an apparatchik of the Catholic Church and has as his mentor Cardinal Pell, an extremist. It’s the Galileo Effect.

You would think that we could choose people to lead us who are better than this.