Wednesday, 19 November 2025

 Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (16:46): I grieve for the state of Victoria were the far-right fringe of the Liberal Party to get into government. We know that they have repeatedly attacked programs designed to teach respect for women, queer people and minorities in schools, and we know that the new Leader of the Opposition, the member for Kew, is relying on the support of the far-right fringe of the Liberal Party. We can only imagine the catastrophic impact that would have for the state of Victoria. I will unpack that in further detail. You do not have to go too far, because I tell you what, the far-right fringe are not shy in terms of sharing their views on these matters. Let me tell you, one of the saddest elements is the way they literally trample on some of the most vulnerable people in our community, with no care whatsoever about driving a tractor through the rights of trans people, let me say, on many occasions. Let us go to that issue of equality to start with. Member for Northern Metro Evan Mulholland called for politicians to focus more on those who voted against same sex marriage, saying:

The No vote in the same-sex marriage plebiscite was higher than the primary vote of either major party. For either party to simply ignore the 38 per cent of Australians who voted No would be a grave mistake.

The member was not backward in coming forward and very, very clearly elucidated exactly his position when it comes to equality. I would dare say that equality in his frame is absolutely negotiable – which is the complete opposite of our party, because we know as a Labor Party have been absolutely consistent when we say that equality is not negotiable in the state of Victoria. I will provide references for Hansard after my speech.

I go further, because there are other members on the far-right fringe of the Liberal Party. Member for Western Metro Moira Deeming, on a couple of occasions at least – I will just spell out what she has said – has called programs designed to support queer students ‘catastrophic’ and ‘disgraceful’ and has called for the tracking of queer students who socially transition in school. That was 15 October. On 12 October – I am sorry for the reverse order of that – she called for the tracking of queer students. I can only imagine how humiliating that would be when we think about the fact that we back in our LGBTIQA+ community for all the right reasons, not least because we do not want them to be discriminated against, persecuted, put down, isolated or in any way excluded. And if we were to track, how would we do that? Would we insert a microchip? What would this look like, and who would be called upon to track the queer students? I mean, how would that be rolled out? I can see that there is little care or concern for how that would be rolled out, and we can see a clear agenda with that statement.

I go further. The member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, spoke at an Australian Christian Lobby forum on 3 October:

… standing against the gender ideology indoctrination and sexualisation of children in schools through the Respectful Relationships program and Sexuality Education.

So we can see there again a gross distortion, actually a mythical representation, of what the Respectful Relationships program is actually designed for and what it delivers. I want to do some myth busting here because I think it is extremely sad and it is manipulative and it is cruel to distort these very much evidence-based programs. It is actually topical – even more topical when we think about the next 16 days and the objectives in terms of tackling gender-based violence and family violence in the state of Victoria.

Myth 1: Respectful Relationships teaches radical gender theory. Fact: Respectful Relationships does not teach radical gender theory. It is a primary prevention initiative to reduce family violence. So when you think about the far-right fringe of the Liberal Party finding every which way they can to undermine the very program to foster respectful relationships and equality in schools, it does beg the question: why? Why would they want to plug out these incredibly destructive agendas? Noting the significant issue of the rates of family violence and the number of women that die and children who die at the hands of family violence, surely they would want to be backing in sound, evidence-based programs to make that major cultural change that we need to see. Schools involved in the Respectful Relationships initiative are building a culture of respect and gender equality by looking at their practices and policies to drive meaningful change. And I go further: the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended respectful relationships education be introduced to all government schools – recommendation 189. Evidence presented to the commission showed that family violence is the most pervasive form of violence perpetuated against women in Victoria. I am going to go further, because there have been many myths peddled. It is extremely damaging and it actually takes Victoria back. We then have to fight again to validate what is true and proper when it comes to improving outcomes for all children in Victorian schools.

Another myth: education cannot solve the problem of family violence. I think in anyone’s language that is a furphy; we know that. Fact: Respectful Relationships is not intended to be the whole solution to addressing family violence, but it is an important primary prevention initiative, just like other major social and health issues such as smoking and road tolls. Evidence shows that gender-based violence can be prevented by working with the whole population – and in this case, all schools – to address the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge that support the prevention of violence. Studies show that school-based violence prevention and respectful relationships initiatives can produce lasting changes in attitudes and behaviours. Why would anyone want to undermine that? Respectful relationships education in schools was trialled across 19 schools, reaching 1700 teachers and 4000 students. The trial found that the initiative had a positive effect on student attitudes, knowledge and skills, as well as school policies, culture and ethos.

A further myth: the resources are seeking to make children gay, non-binary or trans. This is one of the worst and most destructive myths, I have to say, of all the myths, because it is a fundamental misunderstanding of human beings and how they behave in any case. Fact: this is not true. Longstanding evidence is clear that children develop their understanding of gender from a young age and that by the age of four they largely adhere to gender norms. The point of primary prevention is that it prevents problems before they emerge. Respectful Relationships as primary prevention seeks to ensure that children and young people are not forming the attitudes that evidence shows are the core drivers of family violence. That is the purposive element, fundamentally, of the Respectful Relationships program.

It is absolutely a travesty that it has been distorted and manipulated and really used as a little lever to try and assert certain destructive and pervasive agendas that I am going to say quite emphatically do not serve the better interests of the Victorian community. I should say that this is developmentally appropriate and this initiative is not seeking to make children gay, non-binary or trans. That statement of itself is inherently, as we can see, problematic in the sense that of course it is not seeking to make children gay, non-binary or trans, because that is not how human beings fundamentally evolve and exist in any case.

A further myth: it is inappropriate to teach young children about consent. Fact: for younger children consent education includes an age-appropriate focus on what it can look or sound like to ask for permission or consent and to refuse permission or consent and to understand that consent cannot be obtained by pressuring people to do something they do not want to do – for example, giving or denying permission to borrow a pencil. Consent education also includes learning activities that support prevention of child sexual abuse by teaching about bodily autonomy, body boundaries, the difference between safe and unsafe secrets and the importance of seeking help from trusted adults if children’s early warning signals are sending a message that they might not be safe. Again, I can only see validation in what underpins this very important program in terms of empowering young children to recognise that they are allowed to have autonomy over their bodies and that they do not have to endure abuse. Fundamentally, fostering that kind of empowerment has got to be a good thing. Research shows significant increases in knowledge and improved self-protective behaviours occur when students are taught their rights to be safe from abuse and their right to say no or to tell even when someone in authority over them abuses them. We can see here a couple of key themes: fundamentally, helping a cultural change to foster a family violence–free Victoria, one, and empowering young people to know that they do not have to endure abuse and there are pathways to get help.

Another myth: the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials are not age-appropriate. Fact: the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials were developed by leading education experts who tailored the materials to each year level from foundation to year 12 and made sure all information is age-appropriate and grounded in evidence. Instead of perpetuating rather discriminatory and bigoted positioning on elements that fundamentally cut through in a way that is extremely destructive, particularly for the LGBTIQA+ community, on the contrary, this is making sure that we have evidence-based programs to foster healthier relationships into the future.

Myth: students will use the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials like a textbook. Fact: the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials are designed to support teachers to deliver Respectful Relationships education in the classroom. Teachers use their experience and knowledge to deliver this material in the most suitable way for their students, and I think we have to give credence to our teachers. Fundamentally, as part of their training, I can say as a former teacher from another century, this is part of the training that they receive. Yes, there are textbooks, but you do not just plant a textbook in front of a student and magic happens; that is part of the art of teaching. I think a little bit more respect for our teachers in terms of being able to deliver this content would be appropriate. I add further: materials were developed by nationally and internationally recognised experts from the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education.

I go further with a further myth: the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials are not based on evidence.

This is untrue. The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials have been developed by experts from the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education, which I just said – and I am going to go further to unpack that – based on evidence from reputable research bodies and leading authorities, including UNICEF, VicHealth, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and UNESCO. These are reputable authorities, we can say, and I certainly think that relying on that evidence fundamentally underpins and gives credence to the Respectful Relationships program.

Another myth: Respectful Relationships education will mean less time for literacy and numeracy. On the contrary; I will wholeheartedly refute this. The fact: the Victorian government is committed to improving literacy and numeracy outcomes for our students, which is why we have recently launched our Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. It provides greater investment and support for teachers through teaching resources and professional development opportunities. I have seen it for myself. I have seen the literacy training in schools, and I have certainly had fantastic feedback from teachers about how this is making a difference for Victorian students. It will only continue to grow and get better, and backing in Respectful Relationships is good for the Victorian community.