Burwood school gay film uproar

#1120 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 30 Aug 2015

On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph led with a story of outrage at a plan by Burwood Girls High School to screen a documentary about children with gay parents during school hours.

Church and community leaders, and several “old girls” of the school, expressed shock and dismay at what was called an “attempt at brainwashing school children.”

A lot of unnecessary pain might have been averted if the school principal had made the screening optional and thought more carefully about age appropriateness. Now the NSW Premier has directed his Education Minister to ban every public school in the state from screening the film.

The heart of the issue is where the line should be drawn between education and indoctrination when it comes to controversial social issues, and who should draw that line.

Meanwhile, the Gaby Baby film, which opens in cinemas on September 3, has attracted millions of dollars of free publicity.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.