Safe Schools policy attacked by Liberal Epping MP Damien Tudehope’s petition

The Safe Schools policy that divided opinion at Cheltenham Girls High School and others could be dropped after State Liberal Epping MP Damien Tudehope presented a petition to State Parliament.

State Liberal Epping MP Damien Tudehope

• Safe Schools policy concerns Cheltenham parents

The Safe Schools policy that divided opinion at Cheltenham Girls High School and others could be dropped after State Liberal Epping MP Damien Tudehope presented a petition to State Parliament.

Mr Tudehope presented a 17,000 signature petition on Tuesday calling for an end to the national framework.

“You could definitely say that this is the beginning of the end for Safe Schools,” he said.

“Any program which divides and polarises the community in such a way cannot possibly deliver the anti-bullying outcomes it proposes.”

Cheltenham Girls High School has been divided over Safe Schools

Mr Tudehope said the petition was on behalf of the Australian Chinese community.

The petition is signed by people inside and outside his electorate.

A spokesman for the MP said the matter was due to be debated on September 22.

While Safe Schools is designed to prevent the bullying of homosexual and transgender children, critics say its practices could confuse children as to their gender and sexual identity.

In July, a group of parents wrote to Cheltenham Girls’ High School principal Susan Bridge asking why they were not told of the introduction of Safe Schools.

They were concerned students who chose not to participate in activities supporting sexuality and gender-diverse people could be marginalised.

This is not the first time Mr Tudehope has criticised Safe Schools.

Earlier this year he wrote an opinion article for Catholic Weekly, headlined `Stop the rot of this gender agenda’, which criticised Safe Schools.