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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-01 Daily Xml
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Gender Unicorn

The Hon. S.L. GAME (14:59): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Education, regarding the current year 7 curriculum content.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: My office has been investigating various content from the current South Australian public schools' curriculum. One part of the year 7 curriculum relating to resilience and mental wellbeing drew attention to gender being a choice and something everyone should consider, but it’s not something biologically assigned at birth. This is taken straight out of the Health and Physical Education's unit on 'Personal, social and community health', titled 'Adolescence—a time of change.' It states that children should learn to, and I quote:

Define the terms gender and sex and develop an understanding of gender and sexual diversity. Discuss the fact that we live in a diverse world and individuals are very different and complex. In discussions, refer to the GENDER UNICORN and if time permits, complete the Gender Unicorn Activity.

The gender unicorn is a cartoon picture that students fill in as they consider whether the gender in their mind matches the gender in their heart, and if it matches their physical genitalia.

The trans student resource group who developed the gender unicorn say it is used to explain the difference between gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, the gender they are physically attracted to and the gender they are emotionally attracted to. This is aimed at 12-year-old students. It's embedded as part of the public school curriculum.

I have heard from hundreds of parents who are concerned about this teaching. They believe that the teaching of morals and ethics should be parent and family-led, not directed by teachers at school. My questions to the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Education, are:

1. Does the minister agree that the teaching of morals and ethics primarily belongs to the families of the children they are raising?

2. Does the minister agree that the gender unicorn is inappropriate for 12 year olds in a public classroom?

3. Does the minister agree that school education should be knowledge-based and rigorously dealing with language, maths and science and that we should steer clear of this woke agenda?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am not sure I actually need to refer it to the minister in another place. These are the same sorts of arguments, I think, we would have heard generations ago against teaching sex education in schools. We don't hear that now because it is a reasonable thing to do.

In terms of how one chooses to express themselves, I am amazed at how often people want to get into how other people do that. We had a motion before this chamber just yesterday that touched on some of these issues that was comprehensively voted down in this chamber.

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