Say what you like about Kevin Rudd’s Australia 2020 summit but it’s great that Australia’s children will have a chance to participate in the discussion about this country’s future.

Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard has invited all schools to participate in the proposed 2020 summit involving 1000 of Australia’s best and brightest minds in April.

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“Today’s school students are the adults of 2020, and it’s vital that we harness their energy, ideas and vision in any discussion about this nation’s future,” Ms Gillard said.

“They will be the parents, the business owners, the farmers, the educators and the leaders of 2020, and it’s crucial that we hear their views about the kind of Australia they want to live in.”

Children have strong and valid views about current affairs and the world in which they live, yet we all too often ignore them or patronisingly nod our heads and smile. Giving students a structured environment in their schools with teacher facilitation to get a conversation going, along with the knowledge that their voices will be heard by the government, validates kids’ opinions and is also an excellent educational opportunity. But according to Andrew Bolt this is just another way that “Chairman” Rudd is indoctrinating our yoof with leftist ideology. Bolta lists a couple of other events that he incorrectly attributes to Kevin Rudd (the NSW and Victorian governments’ “order” for schools to force students to watch Rudd’s Stolen Generation apology; and a call by Australia’s chief scientist for school kids to plant trees, despite the fact that Julia Gillard has openly resisted mandating as such) and asks a question.

This is as bizarre as it is utterly offensive. Had John Howard tried this…

…I might have liked him a bit more.