Politics

NSW Will Abandon The Safe Schools Program Once Federal Funding Expires

The reaction from the far right has been roughly as revolting as you'd expect.

by Tom Clift  16 April 2017
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The New South Wales government has confirmed that it will ditch the Safe Schools anti-bullying initiative once federal funding for the program expires at the end of June.

According to the Australian Associated Press, the scheme will be replaced by a broader anti-bullying program that will be available to teachers in term three.

“Bullying will never be accepted in NSW public schools – whether it be because someone is overweight, gay, based on the colour of their skin or for any other reason,” said NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes. “Students who are struggling in our schools, for whatever reason, need support and will continue to receive it.”

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The Safe Schools Debate Reminds LGBT Australians Of When Our Childhood Bullying Was Ignored

Designed to protect LGBTQ children from harassment while educating their teachers and students about sexual and gender diversity, Safe Schools has been labeled a vital resource by its supporters, but has attracted heavy criticism from conservatives. Ex-PM Tony Abbott and his former colleague Cory Bernardi have both described the program as a form of “social engineering”, while Liberal Nationals MP George Christensen likened it to paedophile “grooming” techniques.

In March last year, an independent review confirmed that Safe Schools was totally fine, at which point the Turnbull government announced that they were going to go ahead and gut it anyway. At the time, Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said that “there was never an intention the program be funded beyond the current contract period” – hence the June expiry date.

The Victorian government has since pledged to continue funding the program even after federal money dries up. No such luck in NSW though.

The reaction to the news from the usual suspects on the right has been roughly as revolting as you’d expect. Tony Abbott tweeted his delight, while at the same time attempting to deflect from the fact that the program was rolled out under his watch.

Daily Telegraph columnist Miranda Devine also praised the decision, in an article declaring that Safe Schools was responsible for “an epidemic of ‘transgender’ children”.

Just how much consideration NSW’s new anti-bullying initiative will give to LGBTQ students remains to be seen. Still, that a journalist for one of the country’s most widely read newspapers feels comfortable comparing transgender kids to a disease is pretty telling. You might even say it’s exactly why programs like Safe Schools are so important in the first place.

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Feature image via Wikimedia.