Queensland Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne shut down Pauline Hanson’s push to get an education bill which targets education surrounding the diversity of gender and sexuality.
The bill, first proposed in 2020, seeks to allow parents to ‘challenge teaching in schools such as gender fluidity theory and man-made global warming’ as described by Hanson.
After numerous unsuccessful attempts to push it, Hanson once again brought the bill to the Senate’s table earlier this morning.
Penny, a former teacher, was not entertaining Hanson’s nonsense.
‘This bill seeks to put restraints on what teachers of health and physical education and sexual education, science and humanities can teach in their classes.
‘It’s not about balance. It’s about hate and propaganda. We, as teachers, teach the curriculum that we are provided.
‘It is a curriculum that is grounded in truth and science.
‘We don’t cherry-pick the bits of science that we agree with or disagree with. We don’t cherry-pick the bits of history that we like.
‘And we don’t discriminate against the children who are in front of us in our classes.
‘How dare you use our young people as political footballs,’ she continues.
‘This bill isn’t about critical thinking,’ she argues, ‘It is about legislating a far-right curriculum.’
‘This bill is dangerous, and as a teacher with over 30 years experience in our schools, it is an injustice to the young people in our schools and it is an insult to teachers.’
Pauline Hanson’s transphobic, racist anti-science education bill is an absolute disgrace, driven by pure hate.
Young people are generous of spirit and accepting of others. They deserve an education that is grounded in truth and justice and human rights. #auspol pic.twitter.com/6TiKvLzG9h
— Penny Allman-Payne (@senatorpennyqld) November 22, 2022
‘Transgendering our children’ says Pauline Hanson
In her proposal for the bill in 2020, Pauline Hanson implied that banning curriculum materials which mention the reality of gender diversity would somehow prevent children from becoming trans or non-binary.
‘The preoccupation with gender identity by some teachers and schools is correlated with an increase in children identifying as transgender, which is why I say these educators are transgendering our children,’.
Unsurprisingly, this is also patently untrue.
The falsehood of this claim is not only evident for the vast majority of the queer community who experienced heteronormative curriculums and weren’t miraculously converted, but is also scientifically unfounded.
After infamously falsely claiming that there were only 57 transgender students under the age of 15, Hanson has proved that she is neither an expert on education, nor receptive to being educated.
‘Dripping with hate’
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John also doubled down on this criticism of the Senator Hanson.
He points out that Pauline Hanson is not ‘fit to run a lemonade stand’ let alone be a ‘political decision-maker’.
‘They don’t actually care about these conversations,’ he continues, ‘they are simply trying to get attention for themselves.’
Despite the unlikely chance that the bill will pass the Senate, the harm done by its proposal is irrefutable.
The reintroduction of this legislation is ‘dripping with hate and transphobia’ according to Steele-John.
It also comes mere days after the Colorado Springs shooting.
Hate-crimes do not exist in a vacuum. The correlation between anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and violence has been proven time and time again.
The platforming of these harmful discussions only furthers the risks faced by both LGBTQIA+ youth and their parents.
And in the words of Penny, ‘they deserve an education that is grounded in truth and justice and human rights’.
For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Well said, Penny Allman-Payne! Pauline Hanson is, despite having Ashby on staff, a transphobic idiot!
It is a travesty that Pauline Hanson continues to be elected to the Senate despite so few votes.
The woman is an evil narcissist who is only interested in getting as much attention as possible for herself and her archaic views.
Unfortunately Pauline is just attention seeking again, to be relevant of some sorts, best to just not publish anything about her actions full stop, writing a story in her name just encourages her to be radical, if she is just ignored eventually, hopefully she will just disappear.
She has nil change of passing any of these bills in Parliament so she poses no threat, if completely ignored she becomes completely irrelevant, and the Senate can concentrate on important issues such as debating the Govt bills that can be passed instead if being consumed by negativity.
Thank you thank you for your sensible and rationale reasoning that clearly is grounded in experience, science and truth. Your statement to the female cabinet ministers was brilliant. Thank you for your sense of justice and equity for all in our queer culture, that disseminates throughout the community as a whole to stop all forms of discrimination, but rather seeks to inform that is substantial steeped in facts