A rise in faith-based education and home schooling risks Australian children growing up without any meaningful exposure to peers outside their cultural and ethnic groups, a Labor frontbencher says.

Julian Hill, the Albanese government’s assistant minister for citizenship, customs and multicultural affairs, says recent educational trends are seeing some children reach adulthood without mixing with people from different cultures and religions.

Hill says education could be among the institutions and systems which “militate against intercultural connections and deeper social cohesion”.

In a speech to the progressive thinktank the McKell Institute on Wednesday, he will say policymakers should consider extreme and conservative curriculums some students will be exposed to, including through a major rise in home schooling since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hill will propose new efforts to promote better mixing of Australian children from different backgrounds, including in sport, extracurricular activities and social events.

He will point to Singapore as a possible example, where deliberate policies and “co-curricular” activities bring students from different schools and diverse backgrounds together for sport and social events.

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According to Hill, 320 new Catholic and independent schools have opened in Australia since 2015, compared with only 279 new government schools. The proportion of students attending a school with a religious affiliation reached 33.9% last year, representing 1.4 million students.

“If trends continue, we can expect to see steady growth in the number of faith-based schools, attended by a higher proportion of Australian kids – Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and more,” Hill will say.

Home schooling registrations have grown rapidly in the past five years, up by 232% in Queensland, 116% in New South Wales and 85% in Victoria.

“There are reports of quite extreme or conservative curricula being used which gives cause for pause and reflection if this trend continues.

“What is being taught to these kids? Are they mixing with broader society?”

Hill, who is himself a graduate of a religious school, will say he is not arguing against faith-based education, but rather raising questions about whether extra efforts to “strengthen bridging capital” were needed.

“Done well, intercultural initiatives will resonate with Australians, and over time should foster reduced prejudice and social polarisation, stronger integration and trust between communities and institutions, and greater resilience to hate-based violence and misinformation.”

Hill’s speech comes a day after the first hearing of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion, sparked by the Bondi terror attack in December.

On Tuesday, Hill challenged One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to break with the party’s candidate for the seat of Hunter at last year’s election, Stuart Bonds, over incorrect claims about two men visiting a mine site near Muswellbrook at the weekend.

Bonds claimed the two Muslim men were “looking for explosives”.

“This rubbish is designed to inflame community tensions. It’s dangerous for Australia and a real leader would act,” Hill said on social media.

In his speech on Wednesday, the Bruce MP will suggest the Coalition’s shift to the right is fuelling One Nation’s rise, accusing the minor party of “playing with fire” with its inflammatory statements about the Islamic community.

“The promise of Australian multiculturalism simply understood is the great Australian promise of a fair go – that everyone gets a fair crack at life here no matter their background, identity or how long they have been here,” Hill will say.