Malcolm Turnbull has urged calm heads in the debate on whether the Safe Schools program should continue, after government MP George Christensen likened the anti-bullying initiative to child grooming.

Christensen told parliament on Thursday that the program, which aims to stamp out homophobia and transphobia in schools, had recommended pornographic content and taught children to bypass parental internet filters to access certain websites.

“The parents would probably call the police because it would sound a lot like grooming work that a sexual predator might undertake,” he said.

The prime minister on Friday deflected questions on whether he supported Christensen’s comments.

“I encourage everybody who is discussing these issues to do so in very measured language, and to consider very carefully the impact of the words they use on young people and on their families,” Turnbull said. “The strength of our society is based on mutual respect and that is something that must be extended to all of us – children, and indeed, all Australians.”

Turnbull on Tuesday ordered a review of Safe Schools following backlash to the program from a number of Coalition MPs and senators.

The investigation will examine whether the program is age-appropriate and educationally sound, whether it aligns with the Australian curriculum and whether it suitably achieves its objective to reduce harm and stigmatisation of same-sex attracted and gender diverse young people.

It will also investigate the extent to which parents and the school community are consulted about the program.

A professor of education from the University of Western Australia, Bill Louden, and anti-bullying expert from the same university, Donna Cross, will conduct the investigation.

The inquiry reports back to the federal Department of Education on 11 March.

Despite the controversy, the program’s coordinators said more schools had signed up to be part of the initiative.

“In this past week at least 10 more have done so, at last count we now have 515 member schools,” a spokeswoman for the Safe Schools Coalition said. “We are also pleased to note that no schools have left the program since the government review was announced.”

Earlier this week Guardian Australia revealed that only one school has ever pulled out of the program as a result of parental pressure, undermining comments from conservatives that parents are against the program.

Rightwing parliamentarians have criticised Safe Schools for promoting what they claim is hypersexualised content that promotes an anti-heterosexual lifestyle.

At least one MP, West Australian backbencher Luke Simpkins, thinks discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is overstated.

“I have never met anyone that displays an extreme or irrational fear of homosexuality,” he told parliament on Thursday. “I have an army background and a sporting background and never have I met anyone who has such fears.”

The Labor party committed to fund the program, which costs $8m over four years, before it left office in 2013. Federal funding is due to run out in June 2017.



The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, on Thursday criticised the prime minister for failing to keep conservatives in his party in check during the heated Safe Schools debate.

“When I stand up on these issues, I just wish we had Malcolm Turnbull standing up on these issues. The old Malcolm Turnbull would have. The new Malcolm Turnbull keeps doing deals to keep the rightwing of his political party happy. The truth is he is shrinking in his job,” Shorten said.

But at least one Labor member has doubts over the program.

West Australian backbencher Joe Bullock told the Australian the “terrible” program needs to be defunded immediately.

“This program is so narrowly focused on homosexual issues that it doesn’t provide the sort of balance one would hope,” he said.

That drew a rebuke from Labor frontbencher Penny Wong, herself a lesbian.

“I don’t agree with Joe and the Labor party doesn’t agree with Joe on this. This is a Labor program, we funded it in government,” she told ABC TV.