Proposal for second language to be mandatory in Australian schools

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop has proposed a new plan to ensure Australian school children will be bilingual. She told Sky News that “it should be an Asian language. I wouldn’t necessarily say it has to be Mandarin. Japanese, Indonesian – there are a number of Asian languages that would be important.”

Bishop believes that the proposal would help increase career opportunities for future generations, and help Australia engage with the region.

She suggests the plan to be put into place before the next federal election.