Bring Coding Into Australian Schools!

please get over short-term political point scoring and think longer term and genuinely about then future of generations of people.

Knowledge is never wasted.

Almost everything in your modern day life is driven by computer software. The next generation needs to understand computer software for Australia to prosper in the coming year where computers and software will drive more and more in the world around us.

It's not just about programming, or the fact that the demand for tech workers is increasingly outstripping the supply. It's also about the benefits of learning the kind of logical thinking required to write code. Like any good learning, it carries benefits into other parts of your life, regardless of whether you use the specific skill in your job. Being a programmer myself, I am of course biased, but learning to code has been one of the best and most rewarding decisions of my life to date. My only regret is how late I started learning it in earnest (late teens, early 20s). Adding it to primary schools will allow children to make more informed decisions about their future, as they will have been exposed to more possible futures. It seems Abbot would prefer to send the children of tomorrow to work in his favourite business sector, the mines... Except we're automating most of that too.

Teach coding from the earliest of age! Fred Wilson is supporting a similar initiative in NYC and it works. The world of tomorrow is the IoT. Our kids must be given the skills to play a role in this future.

Bring the future to the kids of tomorrow

It's time for the fourth "r": 1. Reading 2. wRiting 3. aRithmetic 4. algoRithms Maybe PM Tones doesn't know his algorithms from his logarithms, his meta-data from his meta-programming, but the automation age is well-and-truly upon us, and *all* kids need and deserve exposure to how to *think* about formal process through elementary computer science (not just using apps, playing games, and fiddling with social media). Bonus: I will personally mentor the fundamentals of Comp Sci and discuss their relevance to policy to any willing politician. -- Daniel Prager, PhD

I work in the tech sector and I know this shortage is real. Our economy has slowed down since the end of the mining boom and our country needs something to replace it, the services industry isn't cutting it. We need the next generation to be prepared with the skills required to tackle this technology revolution.

I make a comfortable living programming, and part of this come from having started at a young age. I want every kid to have the same opportunity I have had.

I'm a game artist but wish I had been taught coding at an early age. Tech artist are very sort after in our industry so given kids more round skills in all area can only help them in the future

I'm a 31yo Software Engineer... I build my first PC when I was 9 and I've been scripting, coding and troubleshooting ever since... Abbot's clueless when it comes to technology and we need politicians that understand the amount of growth in this industry and the need to position Australia as a technology leader, not a follower. The resources in the ground are finite, but Australian ingenuity and our ability to apply lateral thinking to problems should be positioning us as world leaders in the future, if only our Government would let us box without our hands tied behind our backs!

I'm a 31yo Software Engineer... I build my first PC when I was 9 and I've been scripting, coding and troubleshooting ever since... Abbot's clueless when it comes to technology and we need politicians that understand the amount of growth in this industry and the need to position Australia as a technology leader, not a follower. The resources in the ground are finite, but Australian ingenuity and our ability to apply lateral thinking to problems should be positioning us as world leaders in the future, if only our Government would let us box without our hands tied behind our backs!

Do we want our kids to be consumers or creators of technology?

I learned coding when I was in primary school, not to get a job but because it was fun. It teaches so many other skills and would be a great benefit to many kids.

coding is the way of the future

Teaching kids Coding is the same as teaching them English... IT IS A LANGUAGE!!!

I don't do very much coding on a day to day basis, but a basic understanding of what that code behind my software does contributes significantly to my ability to meet the expectations placed upon me. This is as basic as reading, writing and arithmetic. Teaching it in both primary and secondary schools needs to be a matter of priority.

My son started teaching himself coding at around 12...hasn't looked back.

Lets put this Abbot chop into his place, the rest of the country, and the world isn't even discussing this, its already acknowledged. Wake up.

I've been coding for ages and its used in so many scientific fields, more kids need to be exposed to what is now common place in any future-advancing industry.