Scott Morrison blasts ‘gender whisperers in schools’

The Greens say it has “only taken a week” for Scott Morrison to show he “doesn’t care about young LGBTIQ children’’.

Greens Senator Janet Rice.

The Greens have condemned Scott Morrison, saying it had “only taken a week” for the new prime minister to “repeatedly show he doesn’t care about the wellbeing or welfare of young LGBTIQ children’’.

Mr Morrison this morning spoke against a program that trains teachers to identify transgender children in classrooms. The Daily Telegraph reports today that gender identity experts are training teachers to spot signs that a student may be transgender. Hospitals have this year already referred 74 children aged 6-16 to gender dysphoria clinics, 52 more than in 2015.

Mr Morrison tweeted a link to the story this morning, saying “We do not need ‘gender whisperers’ in our schools. Let kids be kids.”

We do not need ‘gender whisperers’ in our schools. Let kids be kids. https://t.co/POzM26PXU5

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) September 4, 2018

The Greens LGBTIQ spokeswoman Janet Rice said Mr Morrison had “done so much damage in such a short time”.

“On Monday he refused to condemn dangerous LGBTIQ conversion ‘therapy’ and the ideology that drives it, saying it wasn’t an issue for him,” she said.

“This morning he posted on social media that a program to help teachers identify trans and gender diverse kids is gender whispering, saying ‘let kids be kids’.

“The article quoted an unqualified ‘gender expert’ with links to the Australian Christian Lobby who has been a candidate for Fred Nile’s Christian Democratic Party.

“Well I’ve got news for the Prime Minister — some kids are trans. Some kids are gay, lesbian, bisexual. Some kids are questioning their gender or sexuality. And they need to be supported by their families, communities, schools and their representatives in parliament.”

Senator Rice said Mr Morrison’s claim that the Liberal Party is “on your side” clearly only applies “if you’re heterosexual and cisgender”.

“It’s pretty clear the Prime Minister doesn’t give a rats about young LGBTIQ people,” she said.

Dr Elizabeth Riley said teachers needed to be aware of the signs as one per cent of students were transgender.

“Trans children are in every school, they’ve been around since the 1800s … If a school has 1000 students, 10 of them will be trans, whether they go on to transition or not. It’s important we support them so they get the right advice­ early so they are not bullied or go into hiding.” she told The Daily Telegraph.