Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner ‘caught by surprise’

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner reveals how he felt when the private school he sends his children to introduced a gender contract.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he welcomes indication from the private school his children attend that it is reconsidering what has been put forward in an enrolment contract regarding gender identity.

More than 110,000 people have signed an online petition for the Citipointe Christian College to recall amendments to its contract requiring parents to agree that their children will identify as their birth gender or face being excluded from the school.

“I have spoken to the Citipointe principal and conveyed my concerns directly,” Cr Schrinner said on Tuesday afternoon.

“Regarding the proposed contract, I have not signed it and have no intention of signing it,” he said.

“I welcome the indication from the school that it is reconsidering what has been put forward.”

The Carindale Prep to Year 12 school gave parents little more than a week before classes resume to consider its new contract, which also proclaims beliefs that homosexuality and bisexuality are destructive to society.

“Like other parents, this has caught us by surprise. I will be raising my concerns with the principal,” said Cr Schrinner, whose register of interests shows he donates $500 or more to the Citipointe Foundation Trust.

“I am reassured by his public statements that Citipointe does not discriminate against students because of their sexuality or gender identity.”

Schrinner in November gave well wishes to students in a video posted by the school where he also received an education.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner appears in a video supporting Citipointe Christian College in November 2021.

Labor councillors asked to move an urgency motion that Brisbane City Council condemns the views of the college and joins calls for its enrolment contract to be recalled.

But the matter had not been added to the agenda as a notified motion prior to the meeting, and a motion to suspend standing orders to allow the motion regarding Citipointe was voted down.

Cr Kara Cook, Cr Jared Cassidy, Cr Peter Cumming, Cr Jonathan Sri, Cr Nicole Johnston, Cr Steve Griffiths and Cr Charles Strunk voted in favour of allowing the motion.

Cr Schrinner, Cr Krista Adams, Cr Steven Toomey, Cr Sandy Landers, Cr Angela Owen, Cr Vicki Howard, Cr Fiona Cunningham, Cr Sarah Hutton, Cr Steven Huang, Cr Andrew Wines, Cr Fiona Hammond, Cr Kim Marx, Cr James Mackay, Cr Adam Allan, Cr Tracy Davis, Cr Greg Adermann, Cr Lisa Atwood and Cr Peter Matic opposed suspending standing orders.

Cr Ryan Murphy appeared absent from the virtual meeting during the vote

Meanwhile, a gay Queensland federal MP says the law allowing Citipointe Christian College to force upon parents a controversial contract should be repealed.

Section 38 of the Sexual Discrimination Act states it is not unlawful for ‘religious bodies’ and ‘educational institutions established for religious purposes’ to discriminate against people in certain circumstances on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

But LNP Member for Moncrieff Angie Bell said the section of the Act needs to be repealed — something she had been advocating for.

A group of Liberal MPs, including Queensland MP Warren Entsch, had in late 2021 pushed for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to quickly address protections for LGBTQI school students amid the government’s push to put in place new religious discrimination laws.

The group have not yet been successful.

Ms Bell also “strongly urged” Citipointe College leadership to focus on children’s education and “fostering a positive environment” instead of the fear of retribution.

“A child should be able to attend any Australian education institution without hindrance or judgment,” she said.

LNP federal Member for Moncrieff Angie Bell

“The only instance in which a child should be issued a consequence in a learning environment, is when held accountable for poor choices of an academic nature such as not completing homework, breaking uniform policy or disrupting the learning of their peers.”

It came as Citipointe teacher Helen Clapham Burns announced her resignation from the school.

Ms Clapham Burns told The Project her son also attended the school and was due to begin his first term of Year 11 on Monday.

“So I didn’t even get a full business day to look at alternatives,” she said.

“And so we have been in trauma and stress this weekend as I am having to blow my son’s world apart because he is not going to get to do Year 11 and 12 with his mates.

“ … The realisation hit me that not only could I not sign that as a parent, I couldn’t agree to be a teacher in a school that had that vocabulary and language around some of the most vulnerable kids that we interact with.”

Anglican Church Southern Queensland has flagged its support for the LGBTI+ community in response to Citipointe’s move.

Protest over Citipointe gender contract.

“Neither students nor staff in our schools will be discriminated against on the basis of their gender or sexuality,” Bishop Jeremy Greaves said.

“Our schools will remain safe places for all people ‘without exception, without exclusion’, and we welcome among our students and staff people of diverse backgrounds, diverse faith perspectives and those who identify as LGBTI+.

“The Anglican Church in its long history has come to value diversity as a positive good and our schools know the gifts that diversity brings to any community.

“The only precondition for membership in our schools (outside fees) is respect, respect for our ethos and the Gospel at its heart.”

The Queensland Human Rights Commission issued a strong statement which said the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act has not permitted religious schools to discriminate against currently enrolled students because of their sexuality or gender identity for 20 years.

The statement said expelling, disciplining or otherwise treating a student unfavourably because of these characteristics was unlawful discrimination in Queensland.

“A school policy that requires a trans or gender diverse young person to be treated as their sex assigned at birth, or that requires a young person to hide or deny their sexuality, is likely to amount to unlawful discrimination,” the statement said.

“If a child in a school is treated unfavourably because their parent is LGBTQ+ this may also amount to discrimination on the basis of ‘association’ with their parent’s sexuality or gender identity.”

Independent Education Union, Queensland and Northern Territory Branch Secretary Terry Burke echoed comments by the Queensland Human Rights Commission and called on the college not to use contracts to avoid their responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.

Mr Burke said the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act did not permit religious schools to refuse enrolment on the basis of gender identity or sexuality, or to discriminate against existing students on this basis.

Citipointe Christian College

“This means if the college were to expel, discipline or otherwise treat a student unfavourably because of these characteristics, this would be unlawful discrimination in Queensland,” Mr Burke said.

“Trying to avoid anti-discrimination laws by asking parents and/or students to agree to discriminatory terms in a ‘contract’ is beyond shameful and rejected by our union.”

Independent Schools Queensland CEO Chris Mountford said parents had a choice and could “engage with a school that aligns with their family’s needs and values”.

“Queensland’s 230 independent schools are as diverse as the communities they serve,” Mr Mountford said.

Citipointe Christian College has been reached for comment.

The college is a ministry of the International Network of Churches and Citipointe Church in a statement said both entities were “in complete alignment and agreement with the beliefs of the bible and the INC Statement of Faith”.

Global senior pastor Mark Ramsey said they believed in a place where people could receive compassion without compromising on biblical foundations.

“As with every school – private and public – there is agreement by the parents to the school’s core beliefs and behaviour management policies, which form the basis for enrolling in the school,” Mr Ramsey said.

“The College offers a faith-based education as a choice among many other schooling options available to parents in Brisbane.

“The College, through the freedoms afforded to it by law, has outlined its common beliefs and practices within its enrolment process so that parents can choose whether to educate their children at Citipointe Christian College.”