In an ironic turnaround, the LGBTI lobby in Australia is proving to be a significant source of support for faith-based schools, including Christian schools.
In 2010, the government of Victoria rolled out the Safe Schools programme. The purpose of Safe Schools, according to official government speak, was to develop a mechanism to limit bullying within schools of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) students. This programme included professional development activities for school teachers accompanied by materials for the training of students to eliminate discrimination against LGBTI students.
Gay and communist
The Safe Schools programme was the brainchild of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Its best-known advocate is Dr Roz Ward, a former faculty member at the university, who has been reported as declaring at a 2013 Marxism conference: ‘I not only teach people how to be gay, I teach them how to be gay and communist, so invite me to your school if you will.’
