Why we need to understand how government works.
Our Governor-General Sam Mostyn said recently, “We’ve got a growing catastrophe, knowledge of how the country’s system of government operates is in steady decline and better civics education is needed. If we don’t, this is the beginning of the unravelling of social cohesion.”
Strong words indeed, from the highest office in the country.
Many commentators say that over the last few decades, the middle class and centre of politics has been splitting into the “right” and the “left”, the rich and the poor. The phenomenal rise of social media has been a powerful force for good and bad. At its worse it has corroded our trust in the public institutions of health, police, education, and government. Social cohesion, as our G-G said, is unravelling and many people are
uncertain of our future.
If we knew more about how government works – its power, processes and its limitations – we would be less likely to feel that we’re getting screwed over.
Bathurst U3A decided to conduct a Civics course recently. From the very beginning, people have been flooding into the program wanting to know more. One of the guest speakers was Andrew Gee MP, Member for Calare in the Federal Parliament. He wrote in Facebook later, “There’s a huge appetite in our community to learn how our democracy works and local educational initiatives like this are to be applauded !”
The course has proven to be so popular that the 8-session program is being run again from next week. Contact Bathurst U3A if interested. Great work and congratulations Bathurst U3A!
