Scott Morrison is Australia’s new Prime Minister. | Photo: Scott Morrison MP – ScoMo / Facebook
Australia’s new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has continued his terrible streak on LGBTI issues. This time stating that he will not ‘get involved’ in outlawing gay conversion therapy.
Radio host Neil Mitchell asked him his thoughts on the harmful practice after LGBTI Christians renewed their calls to the government to ban it. Gay cure survivors started a petition to have the practice outlawed. 43,000 people signed the petition which they delivered to Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
He told Mitchell, ‘people should make their own choices about their lives’.
‘I respect people of all sexualities, I respect people of all religions, all faiths. I love all Australians,’ Morrison said.
‘I’ve never been involved in anything like that, I’ve never supported anything like that, it’s just not an issue for me and I’m not planning to get engaged in the issue,” Mr Morrison said.
Gay conversion or gay cure therapy attempts to turn LGB people straight, through prayer, ‘therapy’, torture or violence. Almost every mainstream health and psychiatry organization in the world has condemned the practice.
End conversion therapy
The Australian Greens party said the PM ‘must come out and commit to stamping out harmful conversion therapy’.
‘Conversion therapies and sexual orientation change efforts are harmful and can have fatal consequences,’ said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ spokesperson.
‘The basic premise of conversion therapy and sexual orientation change efforts is that LGBTIQ people can and must be changed, rather than being perfect and accepted for who they are.’
‘All LGBTIQ people should be able to practice faith without pressure to change or suppress their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
‘The Prime Minister must come out and work with survivors, the community and the Greens to ban these practices in Australia.’
If you’re the pm, saying “well its legal so its fine” is such a cop out. You’re the pm. You have the chance to direct changes to the law through the nation’s parliament. Piss weak @ScottMorrisonMP
Conversion therapy hurts kids. Get a spine.
— Bill Cruickshank (@Jestingrabbit) September 3, 2018
Scott Morrison says he loves all Australians, including gay people. But he gets a bit cranky when @3AWNeilMitchell asks his view on gay conversion therapy.
‘It’s just not an issue for me’ #auspol— Bevan Shields (@BevanShields) September 2, 2018
Gay ‘conversion’ therapy has been described by the UN as torture and condemned by leading medical groups as child abuse, but our new PM says “It’s just not an issue for me” https://t.co/arvjnQppDH
— Jason Ball (@jasonballau) September 3, 2018
Scott Morrison just shared some pretty cooked comments on conversion therapy. He also couldn’t see how supporting the postal survey and voting ‘no’ was at odds with loving LGBTIQ Australians. https://t.co/NyqtedDQtx
— sam langford (@_slangers) September 3, 2018
Private schools
In another radio interview Morrison admitted it was ‘skin-curling’ that schools taught children about LGBTI topics. The empathy building program is designed to reduce bullying.
Radio host, Alan Jones asked if it made Morrison’s skin curl that the program discusses bisexuality and requires students to role play a lesbian character.
The devout Christian agreed that it did make his skin curl and that’s why he sends his daughters to private schools.
‘I don’t want the values of others being imposed on my children in my school and I don’t think that should be happening in a public school or a private schools,’ he said.
‘That’s why I want to protect the independent schools to ensure they can continue on providing at least that choice. When it comes to public schools … how about we just have state schools that focus on things like learning maths [and] learning science.
‘It’s not happening in the school I send my kids to, and that’s one of the reasons I send them there.’
