Page 867 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 March 2016
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Why? Because I know a little about what it is like, Madam Speaker, to be gay, to be in the closet, and to suffer from bullying and discrimination in a school and education setting in this city. All I can say is: thank God a lot has changed from the 1980s and the early 1990s to now. But that has only happened because governments, people of good heart and the community overall, have responded so positively to want to include people, to want to eliminate bullying and to want to ensure that very clear statements are made to gay and lesbian, transgender and intersex kids that they are doing just fine, they are normal, and they are a welcome part of our community. We need to continually restate this, it seems, because of the likes of Senator Bernardi, Mr Christensen and others and, sadly, even the former Prime Minister, who have been on the public record with such appalling statements.
What we are looking for today is a clear statement of values from this place. The safe schools program was rolled out to do something about bullying and discrimination that is faced by too many LGBTI Australians. Eighty per cent of the homophobic and transphobic bullying that occurs to LGBTI young people in this country happens at school. That distracts those students from their learning and saps them of their potential. But it has an impact far beyond the classroom. Young LGBTI people are three times more likely to experience depression as compared to the broader population. Almost 50 per cent feel the need to hide their sexual identity or their orientation in public because of the fear of violence or discrimination: 50 per cent, still, in 2016. I can tell you that in the 1980s and the early 1990s it would have been nearly 90 per cent. Things are getting better, but we still have a long way to go. That is why the safe schools program is so important, because young people need to be supported, and this program is making a difference.
I want to commend those who are working in 23 ACT schools and in more than 500 schools across the nation to make a difference here. They are, and they should be, supported. The program is professionally run by the Foundation for Young Australians. Participation is voluntary. Of course, principals have the flexibility to choose materials that will work best for them in their school environments to address bullying.
We have had a great uptake here in the ACT. Twenty-three schools, about a quarter of the ACT’s public schools, and an independent school—and good on them—are members of the Safe Schools Coalition. The response from the Canberra community, and particularly from our schools, has been overwhelmingly positive. The training, the resources and the advice provided to schools, to staff and to students are high quality and they are highly valued by staff, students and families.
So it is heartbreaking that in 2016 our schools are still unhappy places for many LGBTI teenagers. It is heartbreaking that same-sex attracted and gender-diverse young Australians are six times more likely to die from suicide, with bullying and exclusion at school a major factor in those suicide attempts. It is heartbreaking that an education support program designed to make schools safer and happier for those kids is now under threat. That is something I hope all members in this place can stand against. This program has the full support of my government. It is worth fighting for because every student has the right to feel safe at school.
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