Petition supporting Safe Schools gets 20K signatures in just two days

Petition supporting Safe Schools gets 20K signatures in just two days
Image: Image provided by Minus18.

AN online petition calling for support on the Safe Schools Coalition collected 20,000 signatures in two days, beating far right Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi’s petition against the program which received only 9499 signatures.

South Australian Greens Senator Robert Simms, who initiated the pro-Safe Schools petition, said it was “no surprise” Australians supported the program which promotes inclusiveness in schools for same sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse students.

“While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bends to the will of his conservative back bench, Australians have shown formidable support for inclusiveness and diversity,” Simms said.

“Thank you to everyone who signed this petition, more than doubling Senator Bernardi’s efforts – sending a clear message to the government.”

Speaking in parliament, Melbourne federal Greens MP Adam Bandt addressed Turnbull’s decision to review the Safe Schools program and that Bernardi, along with fellow far right Liberal Senator Eric Abetz, “should be ashamed” of themselves.

“How dare you use your platform as elected representatives to tell young people who aren’t like you that somehow they’re not okay, that they don’t belong, and that they deserve to have abuse hurled at them,” Bandt said.

“And if you want an indication about why we don’t need a plebiscite on marriage equality… just look no further than what we have seen so far.”

[fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/Adam.Bandt.MP/videos/1000531766648723//” width=”550″/]

Labor Senator Joe Bollock has also publicly criticised the Safe Schools program, claiming it is too “focused on homosexuals”.

“This program is so narrowly focused on homosexual issues that it doesn’t provide the sort of balance one would hope,” he said.

The inquiry into Safe Schools – which receives $8 million in federal funding compared to $243.8 million in federal funding for the School Chaplaincy program – also provoked Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to indirectly call Bernardi a homophobe during a media doorstop yesterday.

In response to this, South Australian Labor Senator Penny Wong stopped short of calling her Liberal counterpart a homophobe as well on Radio National:

Several state Premiers and state education ministers have publicly declared their support for the Safe Schools program since Turnbull announced the inquiry.

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7 responses to “Petition supporting Safe Schools gets 20K signatures in just two days”

  1. On a positive note, we now see MT’s true colours just in time for the next election. Anyone who was previously thinking of voting Liberal can change their vote before it’s too late, and we’re stuck with another term of homophobic government.

  2. AEC Disclosures:

    Australian Christian Lobby, Fred Nile Group/Christian Democrats Party, Australian Christians, Alliance Defending Freedom (US Group) and the Marriage Alliance – total in 2014/15 was $484,578.89 to the main 6 anti-gay Liberal party MPs and Senators:

    David Clark – $48,456.78
    Cory Benardi – $33,789.22
    Mike Baird – $41,678.83
    Malcolm Turnbull – $27,456.54 (lowest)
    Tony Abbott – $49,531.78 (highest)
    Bill Hefferman – $39,599.23

    Money undisclosed – $189,312.89 (missing or unaccounted for)

  3. The Liberal party are full of wankers! I for one think it is a total embarrassment, that these bigoted people run the parliament and represent Australia! Senator Cory Benardi should go and fuck himself! That is why I always vote Labor or the Greens! Malcolm Turnbull should have more control of his mates within the Liberal party, but instead runs a deeply dysfunctional government with 180 Bills being stuck in the Senate. Do we really want 3 more years of this? At this rate marriage equality is NOT possible until after 2019 at the earliest!