Gay Arab activist says sorry for elite school dildo scandal as Trinity Grammar scraps fundraiser
Queer Arab Australia founder Basem Kerbage has issued an apology after Trinity Grammar students uncovered his sexually charged social media account.
The gay Arab activist at the centre of a dildo scandal that rocked one of Melbourne’s top boys’ schools has issued an apology after students uncovered his sexually charged social media account.
Queer Arab Australia founder Basem Kerbage was filmed fleeing when approached by The Australian for comment on Tuesday, refusing to answer questions about his appearance at Trinity Grammar’s Pride assembly or the explicit sexual videos on his public social media account.
Hours after Mr Kerbage refused to front the camera, he issued a statement to The Australian.
“I would like to extend my deepest, heartfelt apologies to everyone impacted by any of the content found on my personal social media,” he said.
“I hope what’s remembered was my presentation and showing kindness, supporting one another, and calling out anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and homophobia – when safe to do so ... and that everyone deserves kindness.”
The Anglican school in inner-east Kew, where fees top $40,000 a year, was forced to apologise to parents on Monday after Mr Kerbage addressed students in a speech they found confronting after discovering a video of the pro-Palestinian activist deep-throating a dildo.
After the event, several schoolboys quickly downloaded the clip from Mr Kerbage’s Instagram account.
The video, which had no link to his speaking event, was quickly shared by boys from year 7 to 10 who attended the speech, part of a Pride Week event on different forms of love.
By Tuesday, the school decided to scrap its annual fundraising campaign for disadvantaged students after copping backlash over media reporting.
In an email to families, Trinity director of community engagement Lucy Cohen said the “Community Giving Day” event would not go ahead due to the “timing,” but insisted the school remained committed to the initiative.
“We have made the considered decision not to run Community Giving Day today, an online fundraising initiative to help fund scholarships for needy students,” Ms Cohen wrote.
“Our aim is to ensure that Community Giving Day reflects the spirit and strength of our community, and we feel the timing is not right … today. We remain fully committed to this important initiative, which will provide life-changing opportunities for students through a means-tested scholarship.”
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne declined to comment.
Mr Kerbage’s apology comes after the school complained to the $25m state-funded Pride Centre that recommended him and said he had been approved to speak in schools.
The Pride Centre’s website states that all speakers hold valid “Working with children checks and police checks.”
The centre said it would launch a review of its vetting processing on Monday.
Builders lobby Treasurer Chalmers for tax incentives
Tax incentives should be given to builders who meet industry standards to help raise competition and investment, drive productivity and reduce the cost of building, says the MBA.
Bid to put a lid on transport costs
A new price range tendering process will be implemented by the Queensland government for transport infrastructure projects in an effort to prevent costs blowouts.