Educating the nation

Australia’s Minister for Education talks about improving university access for rural students, offering free childcare in a pandemic and life on the farm.

BY EMILY McAULIFFE

‘I t was something I was better able to do 30 years ago, but I think my back would get very sore even attempting to do it now,’ says Dan Tehan (TC 1987) of his sheep-shearing skills. The federal Minister for Education had seriously considered becoming a farmer after growing up working on his family’s sheep and cattle farm in regional Victoria.

But Dan had also grown up with an insider’s view of politics, with his late mother Marie Tehan serving in the Victorian parliament from 1987 to 1999. ‘If you see politics that upfront and personal you can see the positives, but you do question why anyone would want to go into it,’ he says, admitting that volunteering in his mother’s office didn’t leave him with a burning desire to enter politics.

The Hon Dan Tehan MP

During his time at Trinity College and the University of Melbourne, Dan developed an interest in international relations and foreign policy. He subsequently worked as a diplomat before deciding that a career in parliament was worth pursuing.

Dan was elected to federal parliament in 2010 and was sworn in as Australia’s Minister for Education in 2018. He says his insights into different schooling systems has been immensely helpful in this role, having attended a Catholic primary school, public high school and independent boarding school. And the rounding experience of Trinity topped it off.

‘At the higher-education level, especially for students who are coming from regional and rural Australia, college life brings a wide array of benefits,’ he says. ‘Anything that broadens your horizons, helps you to develop friendships, and gives you experiences that you would never otherwise have had is incredibly beneficial and Trinity does that within the bounds of a tight-knit community.’

However, Dan is aware that a fulfilling education isn’t accessible to all, so is pushing to break down the divide between rural and city kids. ‘Moving away [from a rural or remote area] to attend university comes at a cost, and often that is a strong determinant as to whether people will decide to go down the higher-education path or not,’ he says. ‘If we are to continue to grow and develop as a nation, then it’s absolutely vital that we break down that divide when it comes to accessing education.’

To this end, in 2020, Dan announced a $400 million investment in regional education to improve access to higher education for students living in rural and remote areas, in addition to a controversial university fee overhaul.

Dan also made one of Australia’s boldest policy moves by announcing free childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘They were exciting times, they were challenging times and they were a little bit nerve wracking as well, but ultimately it was something that worked for both parents and the sector itself,’ he says of the decision. ‘Looking back on my career, it will be a period that will be forever with me.’