Robert Simms (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Education and Training (Senator Birmingham) to a question without notice asked by Senator Simms today relating to the funding of school programs.

I asked Minister Birmingham about Senator Bernardi's comments in relation to schools being a place of learning, not indoctrination. I asked him whether the government would be looking at the chaplaincy program in light of this fact because it has received $243 million over the last four years. This can be compared to the $8 million funding for the Safe Schools Coalition—that is, the chaplaincy program receives 30 times the level of funding than the project which Senator Bernardi argues is indoctrinating our children.

The response I received from Senator Birmingham indicated that there is no plan to look at the chaplaincy issue. I merely point this out because it highlights the complete inconsistency in the government's thinking on these issues. The way that the chaplaincy program operates sees federal funds being given primarily to an organisation called the Scripture Union that organises chaplains to go into schools in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. Funding also goes to a range of other religious organisations in different states. I went to the website of the Scripture Union earlier today to learn a little bit about this organisation. It says:

Scripture Union (SU) is a Christian organisation which works with churches throughout Australia and the world to make God's Good News known to children, young people … to encourage them to become followers of God through regular Bible reading and prayer and also to link up with their local church.

This is a message that is going into our schools. Well, if that is not indoctrination, I do not know what is. It is promoting a particular religious message to schoolchildren and doing so with a huge amount of government funds.

I want to make it very clear that the Australian Greens have been arguing for many years that we should have more support for young people within schools but that this should come in the form of secular counselling, not chaplains that are aligned with any particular religious organisation. So why is it, when we are talking about providing information to students about issues of sexual difference or gender identity, that that is somehow indoctrinating people? Why is it that that is seen as being indoctrination? We know why that is, and Senator McEwen touched on it in her contribution: it is because of the brazen homophobia we see by those on the opposite side. They have this ridiculous idea that, if you talk about differences in sexuality, you are somehow going to convert people. What an absolutely absurd proposition that is, a crazy proposition, but that is the kind of view held by those opposite.

As a student of Australian politics before I entered this place, I did think that the Abbott government looked a lot like Jurassic Park. But, when Malcolm Turnbull moved into the Lodge, I thought that was the end—