SA Mother Backed By Hate Group Plans To Sue Department Of Education

A South Australian mother is planning to sue the Department of Education with the legal backing of an anti-LGBT hate group, after her daughter was allegedly taught about incest, bestiality and queerness in a “respectful relationships” presentation last year.

On March 22 2024, Year 9 students at Renmark High School received an hour-long presentation meant to address respectful relationships from Headspace Berri, without supervision from their teachers in the room.

The presenter allegedly spoke in sexually explicit terms about their own sexual preferences, and spoke about incest, using terms such as “sister love”, “brother love”.

“There was a slide for what the ‘plus’ means, and they just started randomly saying words that no-one knew, like bestiality,” one student told the ABC at the time.

“It was on the board when they were showing what the ‘plus’ meant.”

The SA Department of Education apologised at the time, with Renmark High School principal Mat Evans writing a letter to parents informing them of an “internal review to ensure that processes around such notifications and procedures with regard to third parties attending at our school are always met”.

The Headspace presenter had also been suspended from department schools while an investigation was underway.

“What happened at  Renmark High School was not acceptable,” a Department for Education spokesperson told Star Observer. “It was an isolated incident and steps have been taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“Current providers have gone through a rigorous process to be approved, to give parents and students the confidence that the sexual health education in public schools is quality, based on evidence, and the nationally consistent Australian Curriculum is delivered.”

Case supported by “anti-LGBT hate group”

Mother of six, Nicki Gaylard, whose 14-year-old daughter was in the audience for the presentation, is planning to sue the SA Department of Education with the backing of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a Christian-based legal organisation from the U.S.

“The Year 9 girls were shown all kinds of slides to do with the LGBT community. They were shown pictures of gender transitions, bare chest scars. They were shown a list of words that included ‘bestiality’,” Gaylard told NewsCorp, adding that students were also shown images of “trans bodies” with top surgery scars.

“From what I could tell, the way it was presented was that it was fun to try these things,” she said.

“Man and man, woman and woman, women being men, men being women … They talked about things like if you weren’t trying different things you weren’t having fun, kind of opening them up to all these different experiences.

“These vulnerable young teen girls who are already confused, growing up with their bodily changes, why not throw in some random disgusting stuff?”

In a letter written by the South Australian Education Minister Blair Boyer to Gaylard in April last year, he apologised for the incident and acknowledged the presentation was unacceptable, adding that bestiality had not been referenced as part of the “plus” of LGBTQIA+.

“I am assured that students were not taught about bestiality, but a reference to the historic criminal treatment of gay men was made,” he said. “I am also assured there was no content related to incest.”

Gaylard has since removed her children from the education system and is now homeschooling them.

Known for their opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, and the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the ADF was designated an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2013.

“Parents send their children to school expecting an education and them to be kept safe, not exposure to explicit sexual content,” said Robert Clarke, director of advocacy at ADF International in a statement.

“Increasingly, parents are discovering that radical approaches to sex education — often shaped by internationally-developed curricula and promoted by activist groups at the national level — are being quietly rolled out.

“This case is about drawing a firm line: parental rights matter, transparency matters, and safeguarding children is not optional.”