Education QLD Appoints Anti-Trans Group Founder To QCAA Board

Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has confirmed the appointment of the founder of a conservative right wing group, responsible for a 2022 anti-trans sporting campaign, to a school curriculum board.

James Power, one of the founders of Advance Australia, is one of two new members appointed to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority board.

Their appointments follow the removal of two union affiliated members.

Anti-Trans group founder appointed by Education Minister

Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek announced the changes to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority board that include one of the founders of lobby group Advance Australia and a former diocesan director of Catholic Education, Leesa Jeffcoat.

They will see Cresta Richardson and Terry Burke removed, they are part of the The Queensland Teachers’ Union and Independent Education Union of Australia respectively.

However it is the appointment of Queensland businessman James Power that is raising eyebrows.

Power was one of the founders and financial backers of Advance Australia, now known as Advance, a conservative lobby group set up to counter the likes of Getup.

Their official website campaigns for things like dumping net zero, stopping immigration, ending Welcome To Country and the campaign “Weak, woke and sending us broke” among a variety of other issues.

It also features an article congratulating then Prime Minister Scott Morrsion for supporting a ban on trans women competing in sports.

A video reel that plays on the website also reveals several other issues they are campaigning against, including several slides about the greens party and features clip of a drag performer campaigning during the YES campaign.

However a campaign by Advance in 2022 revealed their deeply anti-trans agenda when the group made headlines for the unauthorised use of the image of Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm.

In an election campaign against Zali Steggall the group had a giant billboard on a truck that was seen driving around Warringah, it depicted the swimmer and several others with the slogan “Women’s Sport Is Not For Men” alongside Seebohm and several other swimmers.

Seebohm spoke out at the time stating “I love sharing my sport and I want to see more trans people being able to live the life they want.”

Swimming Australia said it had issued a legal notice to the lobbying group to take down the offensive billboard.

“Swimming Australia strongly condemns the use of imagery of our athletes, past and present, by the Advance Australia party in recent political advertising,” chief executive Eugenie Buckley said in a statement, adding that the group had neither sought or had been granted permission to use the photos.

Power has also made waves when he campaigned against Brisbane’s Tattersall’s Club allowing women to become members of the organisation.

He currently in the processes of establishing his own school, St John Henry Newman College, a school that says it “exists to provide a Classical Education that immerses students in the Truth, Beauty and Goodness of God and His world.”

Langbroek defended his decision in statements provided to The Australian newspaper, stating that“The QCAA board needs a diverse skill-set that includes educational leadership, governance and strong communication skills, and that’s what our changes will deliver. This is about ensuring all Queensland students have access to a world-class education, no matter where they live.”