Tony Abbott disagrees with school's condemnation of homosexuality

TONY Abbott has launched his education policy at a Christian school which describes homosexuality as an "abomination".

Tony Abbott

TONY Abbott has launched his education policy at a conservative Christian school which describes homosexuality as an "abomination", but says he disagrees with its views.

As well as announcing policy, Mr Abbott used his visit to the Penrith Christian School in western Sydney to talk about values.

“The great thing about a school like this is it's not just about getting you through your exams,” he said.

“It's not just about making good friends who hopefully will be your friends for life, important though both of those things are.

“In a school such as this it is very important that we have the right values to live by, and I guess the best value that we can live by is that golden rule to 'do unto others as you would have them do to you'.”

The school's statement of faith on its website spells out a list of its values.

In a section on homosexuality, the school says: “We believe that homosexuality and specific acts of homosexuality are an abomination unto God, a perversion of the natural order and not to be entered into by His people.”

On gender change, it says: “We believe the practice of attempting to or changing ones gender through surgical and/or hormonal or artificial genetic means is contrary to the natural order ordained by God.”

Mr Abbott told reporters he “respectfully disagreed” with the school's statement.

“This is a good school and it is a school which has been supported by people like (Labor frontbenchers) David Bradbury and Peter Garrett,” he said.

Penrith Christian School principal Bruce Neville told reporters they were not considering reviewing their statement of faith at the moment.

He said the statement on the school's website referring to homosexuality as “an abomination unto God” was a quote from the Bible.

“Plain and simple, that's all it is,” Mr Neville said before being ushered away by an associate.

AAP