Conservative activist Patrick Shea claims responsibility for flyer and says Safe Schools ‘is not an anti-bullying campaign, rather it is about gender ideology’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Flyers accusing the Greens and Labor of promoting “extreme sex education” by backing the Safe Schools initiative aimed at reducing homophobic bullying have been distributed by a conservative activist to homes across Victoria’s marginal electorates.

The flyer was first posted in Bendigo on Tuesday and has since been reportedly received in other electorates.

It warns voters that Safe Schools encourages boys to “cross-dress as school girls” while providing a program which “sexualises and confuses Aussie kids”.

The flyer condemns Safe Schools’ acceptance of gender diversity, stating “[it] tells school kids they don’t have to be boys and girls: they can ‘decide which gender identity fits’ – transsexual, fluid gender, genderqueer or over 50 genders”.

The flyer distributed to mailboxes in marginal seats in Victoria this week in opposition to the anti-bullying Safe Schools program.

Patrick Shea, an Inverloch resident, has claimed responsibility for authorising the flyer’s distribution and said he stands by its claims.



“I have been involved with Australian Family Association and [conservative Christian lobby group] National Civic Council for a long time. We have people who do research and lobbying and so forth and they put the flyer together and made sure it was accurate so I was happy to sign off on it,” Shea said.

“I am a passionate believer that the Safe Schools program is not an anti-bullying campaign, rather it is about gender ideology. Teachers should be responsible for teaching the three R’s whereas it is a parent’s job to teach their children about the subjects raised [by Safe Schools].”

Shea said the flyer had been distributed across electorates with close margins.



“We have targeted areas where the Labor party has a close margin with the Liberals. We want to hit Labor where it hurts,” he said.

“The Labor party and the Greens say they will roll out the Safe Schools program nationally and we totally disagree with it. We want to stop them from having that influence in Canberra.”

Shea condemned the existing sexual education programs in state schools, saying the terminology encouraged children to become sexually active too early.



“I think we should be calling it reproductive education, rather than sex ed. Using the word ‘sex’ opens up a massive can of worms,” he said.

Victorian Greens senator Janet Rice condemned the flyers.

“The Safe Schools Coalition saves lives,” she said in a statement. “These flyers are so hurtful and hate-filled, and only encourage the discrimination of LGBTIQ young people. Australia is better than this.”

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Crikey reported this week that Shea was also behind an anti-same-sex marriage flyer being distributed to voters at Victorian pre-poll venues in the seats of Bendigo, McEwen, Indi, Corangamite, Latrobe, Dunkley, Deakin, Chisholm and Hotham.

The flyer says that legalising same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws would result in “freedom of speech lost” and people being “prosecuted if they oppose same sex ‘marriage’”. It also warns that “men using women’s toilets if they identify as female” would pose a safety risk for females.

The circulation of the flyers has come less than one week after the Greens candidate for Higgins, Jason Ball, found his campaign signs vandalised with homophobic slurs.



Donna Lancaster, the Greens candidate for McMillan – the electorate in which Shea resides – said the anti-Safe Schools mailbox flyer is “extremely misleading” and could potentially hurt young people in the LGBTI community.

“It is out and out discrimination and it is cruel to use these mud-slinging tactics so close to the election at the expense of the young LGBTI community,” she said.

“Furthermore, the flyer insinuates that Safe Schools will be mandatory in all schools when this is not the case. Safe Schools is targeted at secondary school year levels and can be implemented as the individual school sees fit.”

McMillan’s Labor candidate, Chris Buckingham, also defended the policy and pointed out the inaccuracies in the propaganda.

“Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of misinformation about the Safe Schools program and its content. The Safe Schools program is voluntary, with teachers and principals choosing the elements that are age-appropriate and meet the needs of their students,” he said.

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“In 2013 Labor funded the national rollout of Safe Schools in response to shocking rates of bullying, suicide and exclusion impacting upon young LGBTI Australians.

“Eighty per cent of Australian LGBTI students face verbal abuse and bullying at school. Tragically, research also shows they are six times more likely to die from suicide, and that bullying and exclusion are major factors in suicide attempts.”

One recipient of the flyer said she “couldn’t believe” the way in which the flyer misrepresented the policies of Safe Schools. Carla Dullard, an undergraduate youth work student and Safe Schools advocate, said she was brought to tears upon receiving the flyer in her mailbox.

“Safe Schools is an anti-bullying program which could ultimately save a life,” she said. “Why would we prevent that?”

Safe Schools Coalition Australia’s national office has been contacted for comment.