No forms of bullying are acceptable, the majority of kids that are bullied not because of their gender issues.

I fully support teaching tolerance of others for all reasons, however, getting the 97% of straight kids to role play gay or transgender relationships for the benefit of the 3% that are not is neither necessary to teach tolerance nor appropriate for the target age group.

If this was seriously necessary for anti bullying, the program would get kids to role play being small and weak, being intellectually challenged, ginger haired etc.

That this angered the majority of coalition MPs and many parents is proof that they just went too far.

The pared down program teaches tolerance without the gender politics.

Shadow Minister

I agree, the government’s changes seem to me to strike the right balance between supporting kids who are (or may be) GLBTI, and addressing bullying and intolerance, while removing the more controversial and age-inappropriate material.

Before I start let me say that I use the word "queer" in the same context as the boy who asked a very pertinent question on QANDA last night and referred to himself as a queer.

When I was a child, because of circumstances in 1939, I started school at about four and a half. Some of the older kids bullied me, but being a pretty resilient child, it didn't bother me that much. We had a saying, "Sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you." Later in year seven, I was bullied a bit, but I went to a gymnasium and learned to box and fought back. The other kids respected that and the bullying stopped.

In secondary school, we had a couple of kids who were a bit queer, but it was no big deal as it seems to be today. I don't think all this in your face Gay Pride BS is helping the kids who are that way either. I have friends who I suspect are queer, but they are not in my face about it, so I don't worry. People can't help what they are.

As for the hooray about the Safe Schools program, I get the impression that there is too much emphasis in it on sex and what might be described by some as sexual perversions. Homosexuality is basically not about how people perform sex, it is about which gender they are attracted to or more importantly what gender they would ascribe to themselves. Daniel Andrews on QANDA last night declared unambiguously that the program is working and would not countenance any changes to it, but there seems to be some aspects to it that need tidying up. This is all that the Turnbull government wants to do and I think Andrews needs to be a bit more conciliatory. The neanderthals in the Liberal party need to pull their heads in and get off their religious high horses. No one is trying to convert the children of today into a bunch of queers.

David

[Greens MP Adam] Bandt told Guardian Australia [22 March] young people coming to terms with their sexuality and identity were “hearing hate and slander” from conservative opponents of the Safe Schools program.

Give one example, Mr Bandt, to prove you're not just posturing.

Oh, and you're not talking about the 97 per cent of heterosexual kids, are you, Mr Bandt? No, you certainly don't speak for them.

What a mediocrity.

'No one is trying to convert the children of today into a bunch of queers.

ok David, well what is the point of the program? It certainly ain't about bullying. The supporters have been show to be the biggest bully's and bigots by their actions. Why would anyone want to teach 11 year old girls about anal sex except that it is dangerous and disease prone. These sickos know exactly what they are doing.

This program was rolled out and fully funded by the Abbot lead government!

Without so much of a whimper from those folks now up in arms about it!

So, what has changed? Surely all the fuss can't be just to embarrass, Self confessed champion of social justice, Malcolm Turnbull? The only real change?

Or could it be that some ignoramuses didn't want to be shown up as ignorant homophobes in front of their own kids, before the homegrown homophobic brainwashing kicked in?

As always, and before all the staged managed indignation, decent teachers, (mostly straights) were the standards of decency filter for all the material, and so some of it, just never saw the light of day!

For mine, most of the posts and patently manufactured better late than never, outrage manifesting here, is much ado about nuaght!
Rhrosty.