A television ad promoting a no vote in the gay marriage postal survey has begun airing across the country. Its creators are being accused of scaremongering, and a Melbourne high school has spoken up to dispute one of its claims. A feature presented by Anita Barar
Shown on commercial television on 29th August, night, the ad features three mothers voicing their concerns about how changing the Marriage Act will affect what their children are taught in schools.
"The school told my son he could wear a dress next year if he felt like it .. when same sex marriage laws pass overseas this sort of program becomes widespread and compulsory .. kids in year seven are being asked to role play being in a same sex relationship .. you can say no."
But less than 24 hours later, several of those claims have been refuted.
The high school at the centre of the claim that a male student was told he could 'wear a dress next year' has told SBS that simply isn't true.
Principal of Frankston High School in Melbourne's east, John Albiston, has called the statement a complete fabrication.
The ad was commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage, a group led by the Australian Christian Lobby.
The Coalition's David Van Gend has defended the claims, refering to material distrubuted by an LGBTI youth organisation that supports gender-neutral school uniforms.
He says legalising same-sex marriage will lead to sweeping reforms about how the issue will be taught in schools.
However those claims have been rejected by the Federal Education Minister, Simon Birmingham.
The rector of Melbourne's Xavier College, Father Chris Middleton. is urging parents to consider all sides of the argument before voting, and called upon the church to reflect on the overwhelming support for marriage equality among young people.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has called the ad offensive and hurtful to LGBTI Australians and their families. However Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says Labor rejected the chance for strict advertising standards to be in place when it rejected a plebiscite, and only has it itself to blame for this sort of advertising in the lead up to the postal vote.
***
