Drag queen Panti Bliss, a symbol of the Yes campaign in Ireland's gay marriage debate, has hit out at Australian politicians over the controversial Safe Schools program.

Speaking to Lateline, Ms Bliss asked why people were afraid of the taxpayer-funded program aimed at helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and or intersex school students.

Conservative Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has described the program as radical, while Coalition MP George Christensen compared it to the grooming of children by paedophiles.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a review into the scheme to determine whether it is age appropriate and in line with the curriculum.

But Ms Bliss said the idea that the program could indoctrinate children about their own sexuality was "weird".

"There's this weird idea that somehow you're going to turn kids gay — as if that were possible," she said.

"Look at me, I've come from a straight family with straight parents and straight friends and straight neighbours in the straightest town in the straightest country in the whole world and I still turned out to be gay. This is definitely innate."

Ms Bliss said it was never too early to introduce the idea to children that not every couple is straight.

"Kids are never freaked out about those things. They are taught to be freaked out about those things," she said.

"Kids at a very early stage start to feel their own difference or their own sexuality.

"They may be too young to name it, to describe it to you, but you ask any gay kid when they started feeling different or weird and they'll also tell you when they started being bullied about it."

Gay marriage referendum was 'depressing and difficult'

The Safe Schools debate has prompted Mr Turnbull to caution his MPs about using "measured language".

Ms Bliss said for that reason, she would never recommend a referendum or plebiscite on same-sex marriage.

Ireland voted in favour of same-sex marriage with a 62 per cent majority in a referendum on the issue last year.

But Ms Bliss said the six months leading up to vote was depressing and difficult.

"Suddenly it was OK for people to say the most heinous things about you and your friends," she said.

"To be walking down streets and there were posters hanging off every lamp post saying that you're some kind of threat to children, or people going on television and saying that you're literally a threat to the very fabric of society and that somehow giving you full and equal citizenship will have dire consequences.

"To be constantly hearing that over a six-month period, it becomes depressing and difficult and I think especially for young people it was difficult to be hearing that all the time."

Ms Bliss also said: "I don't think that the majority should get to vote on the rights of minorities."

Mr Turnbull has said he does not want same-sex marriage to be an election issue in Australia and has proposed a plebiscite on the issue, in line with the results of a Coalition vote while Tony Abbott was prime minister.