Mr Abbott, visiting as the event’s special guest, was quick to praise the charm of the region.
“I’m not staying long, sadly, but it is wonderful to be in this part of beautiful Victoria,” he said.
“I’ve got to say, the thing that you really notice about Victorian country towns is how beautifully kept they are.”
Their visit centred on supporting the chaplaincy program and celebrating Kyabram P-12 chaplain Liz Spicer’s 25-year milestone as the longest serving chaplain in Victoria.
It is a record Mr Abbott described as “fabulous” and one he was delighted to support.
When asked about the importance of chaplaincy programs, particularly as families navigated the current cost-of-living crisis, Mr Abbott explained that the role of faith was significant during times of struggle.
“Well, I think, if I may say so, there is a god-shaped hole in every human heart,” Mr Abbott said.
“The gift of faith is priceless, and if that requires some modest support, so be it.
“Particularly, when times are tough, I think, the constellations of religion are more important than ever.”
Ms Credlin highlighted the unique role chaplains played in the lives of students navigating personal or familial financial hardships.
She added that having a chaplain on school grounds removed the barriers of having to make appointments and saved people from going out of their way to find support.
“I guess then having a school chaplain, you can talk to the chaplain about things that you maybe aren’t comfortable telling with Mum and Dad,” she said.
The pair also weighed in on the hottest topic involving Australian youth, the world-first ban on social media for children under-16, which aims to protect them from the pressures and risks associated with social media.
Mr Abbott described the move as “really important and overdue”.
“Yes, at one level, you could say, well, parents are paying for the phones, why don’t the parents just not let the kids have these phones, but because of social pressure, a lot of parents feel they have no choice but to provide smartphones to their early adolescent kids,” he said.
“And yet, the smartphones give people access to so much that’s harmful, and given that we don’t let kids drive, we don’t let kids drink alcohol, we don’t sell kids cigarettes, we don’t have kids buy pornography in a news agency, why should we let them get all that stuff online?”
Ms Credlin agreed, noting that beyond the potential for harm, social media also resulted in a “loss of all that time that could be better spent” on sport, reading or “socialising with real people as opposed to people online”.
