Disappointed by the government-commissioned review into anti-bullying program Safe Schools, far-right conservative MP George Christensen fell back on one of the oldest tricks in the homophobic playbook: an attempt to conflate homosexuality with paedophilia.
On Tuesday night, a group of about 30 Coalition backbench MPs were given a briefing from Professor Bill Louden, the man Education Minister Simon Birmingham appointed to review the Safe Schools Coalition (SSC) program.
Despite a month of campaigning from The Australian and more than a year of attacks from fringe religious groups such as the Australian Christian Lobby, the review is reported to have suggested very few changes to the program.
Birmingham has yet to release the report publicly, but it is expected to be released with a government response this week. But many Coalition MPs, including Christensen, were unhappy with the positive review of the program.
Some called for Birmingham to suspend funding to the program or resign, and Christensen himself said he was getting a majority of backbenchers to sign a petition calling for a parliamentary review into the program.
Using parliamentary privilege, and then again on Sky News, Christensen accused Gary Dowsett, a professor from La Trobe University, where the Safe Schools program was created, of being a “long-time advocate of intergenerational sex, otherwise known as paedophilia”, based on a 1982 article he wrote in the journal Gay Information. Dowsett has refused to comment on Christensen’s comments.
But Dowsett had nothing to do with the the Safe Schools Coalition, which was was developed by Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria. Although he is assistant director of La Trobe’s Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, out of which SSC operates, he has never been involved in the program. According to the centre’s website, the ARCSHS is involved in more than 50 research programs on a wide range of sexual health issues, including Safe Schools. Some of the research is on hepatitis, rapid STI-testing services and street harassment. One project Dowsett has worked on is research on the mental and sexual health recovery for men who have had prostate cancer.
The Safe Schools program is headed up by Roz Ward, the main subject of attacks from The Australian and Coalition MPs in the last month.
The closest link Dowsett appears to have to the program is signing a petition in support of the program following the attacks on it.
On Radio National yesterday afternoon, Christensen also accused the program of linking children to chat sites with “50-year-old men lurking”, and argued that education on gender and sexuality issues should be left to parents. He claimed the program was “brainwashing” and something from “communist Russia”. Russia currently has strong laws against any education related to homosexuality.
Since the review was launched by the government, 32 more schools have joined the program, and just one has pulled out, leaving the program available at 526 schools around Australia.
25 thoughts on “George Christensen busts out spectre of paedos in Safe Schools war”
Shaun
March 17, 2016 at 11:57 pmAs someone who supports Safe Schools and think George Christensen is a disgrace, I just want to say that mocking somebody because of their weight is hardly any better than mocking them because of their sexuality. Those on the left who think such things are fair game are letting down the team big time.
David Heslin
Shaun
March 18, 2016 at 12:02 amWhen you say George Christensen is too fat to be sexually active, you’re not merely insulting him; you’re saying all men (and women) of his physique or appearance are equally worthy of that contempt. That’s incredibly ironic given that the discussion revolves around the bullying and stigma faced by a disadvantaged social group. Think how overweight and obese kids would feel reading this rubbish.
klewso
March 18, 2016 at 12:30 amWhat does it say about a party that campaigns on “unions having too much influence over Labor” : but allows itself to be wagged by the likes of supercilious zealots of the calibre of lobbyist Lyle Shelton (Lateline tonight given pretty much a free run by Tony Jones who isn’t backward in coming forward with judgmental interviews at other times).
klewso
March 18, 2016 at 12:45 am“Lightweight, full of hot air, floats around Canberra with someone controlling his guy rope”?
Nonda Pass
March 18, 2016 at 10:58 amAnd we have the misfortune of having him as our member. What an embarrassment to the electorate and to the parliament this man is.
Norman Hanscombe
March 18, 2016 at 2:44 pmSurely he unintended irony, Joshua, of Crikey accusing someone else of conflating issues didn’t escape you, even if most of your fervent faithful camp followers didn’t detect it?
Give my regards to the Censor, won’t you.
loz wangchen
March 19, 2016 at 3:07 pmHe is projecting when talking about this subject. I was bullied and called gay because I hugged other male students. In Europe to kiss and hug/cuddle another man is not gay. And by the way I am not gay. I love all sentient beings.
George poor fellow, I offer you loving kindness.
Andrew Macenbairdh
March 20, 2016 at 3:07 pmMany of the comments are absolutely disgusting, and demonstrate the degraded infantile mentality of at least some of the readers of this article.
They just go to show that both the Left AND the Right are as guilty as each other of using false logic, hollow arguments and straw man tactics when trying to make a point.
Fact #1: An author calling himself “Gary Dowsett” wrote the 1982 hideous article promoting paedophilia.
Fact #2: A man called “Gary Dowsett” is an assistant director at the ARCSHS at La Trobe University (LTU), which created the “Safe Schools” programme.
Fact #3: Some parts of the 1982 article are remarkably similar to at least some key elements of the “Safe Schools” programme.
Fact #4: Some parts of the 1982 article bear uncanny resemblance to at least some key elements of the “Safe Schools” programme.
Fact #5: Based on the evidence thus far made publicly available, there is no definite proof that the 1982 Dowsett is in fact the Dowsett at ARCSHS at LTU, or that the 1982 Dowsett actually was behind the “Safe Schools” programme.
BUT, there are a number of remarkable coincidences that strongly suggest that it is in fact the very same man, and if so then he was well-placed to play a key part in the programme’s creation and initiation.
MP Christensen connected the dots, maybe some people here should do too (including the author of this article).
Andrew Macenbairdh
March 20, 2016 at 3:16 pmApologies, I mistakenly copied the information from Fact #3 into #4. As they are both the same, in total there should only 4 not 5 Facts listed.
klewso
March 22, 2016 at 10:13 amI reckon, if you’re going to join the dots, it helps if you can count – otherwise who knows what “finished product” the “fertile imagination” will come up with?