The Australian Government is committed to a renaissance in the teaching of Australian history in our schools. Marking today's Australian History Summit, I am pleased to announce the establishment of a Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History.
This prize will be the nation's pre-eminent award for excellence in Australian history. It is intended to raise the profile of Australian history and be a conspicuous reward for the long and often painstaking process of good historical research.
The prize will be awarded annually and be worth $100,000 in recognition of an outstanding publication or body of work that contributes significantly to an understanding of Australian history. Eligible nominations can include a published book, a documentary film, a documentary for radio or television, CD-ROM, DVD or other form of multimedia. The nomination could include a series of these works.
I will invite a panel of eminent historians to assess nominations.
Nominations will be sought for any work first published, produced or performed in the last two years.
The first award will be made later this year, following a public call for nominations. Further details and guidelines for the 2006 Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History will be announced shortly by the Department of Education, Science and Training.