Labor’s Tanya Plibersek has been forced to defend herself against backlash over her idea to have school kids recite Australia’s citizenship pledge.
The shadow education minister made the suggestion during a speech at the Opera House on Australia Day.
She expressed her love for the citizenship pledge and suggested it should be taught to Australian school students.
The pledge reads: “I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its People, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.”
But she’s faced significant backlash over the idea, with people calling it “disappointing” and “retrograde”.
But Tanya Plibersek tells Ben Fordham it’s possible to be both a progressive and love your country.
“People are entitled to their views and my view is that I think the citizenship pledge is a beautiful expression of what it takes to be a citizen.
“We pledge our loyalty to our country and to each other, it’s not to the crown, it’s not to a political party, it’s to one another and I think that’s really in line with the best traditions of Australia.”
I could accept Tanya Plibersek as a Labor Prime Minister
@the_great_she_elephant wrote:
@twyngwyn wrote:
in S.A. this is what we had to recite:
Schoolyard assembly
Once a week, we would all stand lined up and to attention, on the signal the flag would be "run up". The boys would salute and the girls stand to attention. Then we would place our right hand on our heart and recite "I love God and my country, I honour the flag, I will serve the Queen, and cheerfully obey my parents, teachers and the law".How excruciatingly jingoistic. Even that great imperialist, Rudyard Kipling, had no patience with what he termed jelly-bellied flag-flappers.
Great scene/s in Stalky & Co 
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@icyfroth wrote:Labor’s Tanya Plibersek has been forced to defend herself against backlash over her idea to have school kids recite Australia’s citizenship pledge.
The shadow education minister made the suggestion during a speech at the Opera House on Australia Day.
She expressed her love for the citizenship pledge and suggested it should be taught to Australian school students.
The pledge reads: “I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its People, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.”
But she’s faced significant backlash over the idea, with people calling it “disappointing” and “retrograde”.
But Tanya Plibersek tells Ben Fordham it’s possible to be both a progressive and love your country.
“People are entitled to their views and my view is that I think the citizenship pledge is a beautiful expression of what it takes to be a citizen.
“We pledge our loyalty to our country and to each other, it’s not to the crown, it’s not to a political party, it’s to one another and I think that’s really in line with the best traditions of Australia.”
I could accept Tanya Plibersek as a Labor Prime Minister
My thoughts exactly. There is only two people in the current Labor party who are genuine Prime Minister material. Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong. I might not agree with their political philosophy but at least they dont live in "Austraya" like Shorten and Albo......
Trouble is the boofy Union boys club that runs the Labor party are too misogonistic to give them a run.
