Victoria won’t take advice from bigots about changing the Safe Schools anti-bullying program so it no longer includes controversial information on gender and sexuality issues, its premier says.

The Victorian education department on Sunday launched a web page containing the original material used to teach students about sexual diversity that has been removed from the federal government’s amended version.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, has defended the move while taking aim at the commonwealth.

“I get my advice on policy from experts, not from bigots, not from people who really ought to be ashamed of themselves in terms of their views and their tampering with a program that actually works,” he told reporters on Sunday.



The premier in March vowed to keep Safe Schools running in Victoria, saying it would have a place in the state’s secondary schools “long after Cory Bernardi and the rest of his dinosaurs eventually disappear”.

Andrews says the prime minister has failed to show leadership on the issue.

“The journey that the prime minister has been on – you know, talk a good game, pretend that you’re a progressive and then either do nothing, or do nothing good – that is not national leadership Mr Turnbull,” he said.

The state government says it won’t tell teachers what to do but is there to provide them with the resources they need to help students.