Victorian Liberals face internal divisions over Safe Schools ahead of election – The Age
A fresh battle looms in the Victorian Liberal Party, with Opposition Leader Matthew Guy facing internal divisions over his election plan to scrap the Safe Schools program.
Twelve months after Mr Guy announced he would replace Safe Schools with a "genuine" anti-bullying initiative if he winsgovernment next year, some Liberals are angered there has been no policy work on an alternative to help LGBTI students.
The issue has become such a sensitive topic within sections of the party that a new Liberal Pride gay group headed by federal Minister Christopher Pyne's adviser, Rory Grant recently met with state education spokesman Nick Wakeling to raise concerns.
But at the same time, conservativeLiberals are holding "information forums" to attack Safe Schools and drum up further opposition among community and ethnic groups in the lead up to next year's state election.
One such forum was recently held with the Chinese community at the Victorian Liberals' Exhibition Street headquarters, featuring presentations from federal MP Michael Sukkar and state president Michael Kroger. Another recently took place in Cranbourne, with upper house state MP Inga Peulich as one of the key speakers.
The divisions are another example of internal tensions that continue to simmer within the Liberal Party, but could prove sensitive for Mr Guy as he attempts to woo voters in the political middle ground against the socially progressive Daniel Andrews.
At the federal level, a broader cultural war exploded in the past fortnight when Mr Pyne was secretly recorded at a bar with factional allies claiming that same-sex marriage could happen "sooner than everyone thinks".
While the Opposition will abolish Safe Schools,Mr Wakeling has also confirmed that the Liberals will not go to the election with a policy outlining what sort of anti-bullying program will replace it.
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"The Victorian Liberal and National Parties committed last year to scrapping the Safe Schools program and replacingit with a comprehensive anti-bullying program thatfocuseson respect and tolerance for all people. This new program will be developed upon the election of a Coalition government," he said.
However, some Liberals are concerned thatLGBTIstudents could suffer without a comprehensive plan, with one source telling Fairfax Media:"The last thing we want to see isLGBTIstudents being placed at risk."
Safe Schools was piloted in Victoria in 2010 after teachers asked for a specific set of resources to help them support students who were "coming out" as same-sex attracted or gender diverse.
But despitereceiving bipartisan support from the Baillieu/Napthine governments, the program became a political powderkeg last year after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered a review at the behest of right-wing MPs who claimed it was "indoctrinating children" and pushing a "radical Marxist agenda".
While federal funding ceased on July 1, the Andrews government remains committed to rolling out the programto every public school, with Education Minister James Merlino telling Fairfax Media this week:"All government secondary schools will be Safe Schools by the end of 2018."
However, some changes have quietly been made since the Education Department took over running Safe Schools this year from itscontroversial founder, Roz Ward. Among the new requirements, schools must now have a statement reflecting their commitment to creating an inclusive and safe environment for all students, an "action statement" outlining how they will do this, and they must also identify the intended outcomes they expect to achieve.
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Victorian Liberals face internal divisions over Safe Schools ahead of election - The Age
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