By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
GREENS State MP Nina Springle has attacked Casey councillor Rosalie Crestani’s “blinkered” criticism of a State Government anti-violence education program.
Cr Crestani had compared the Building Respectful Relationships program to communism as she tabled a motion against the program at a council meeting on 19 April.
Ms Springle said the comparison showed that Cr Crestani “clearly doesn’t get” the program – which asks students to “think critically about the gendered messages being conveyed through mainstream and social media”.
“The reality is that our children are being exposed to shocking stuff through the internet and mainstream advertising, despite our best efforts as parents.
“The implication of Councillor Crestani’s opinion is that children continue to be exposed to this without being given the tools to think about the messages they’re receiving about gender.”
Despite parents feeling “uneasy” about the content, the classroom was the best place for “evidence-based discussion”, Ms Springle said.
The South-Eastern Metropolitan MP said such programs were backed women by the recent family violence Royal Commission.
“It’s disappointing that biased and blinkered views like Councillor Crestani’s get a run while thousands of experts are working tirelessly to actually introduce evidence-based changes that will prevent family violence.”
At the meeting, Casey councillors almost unanimously backed Cr Crestani’s motion.
She described the program in public schools as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that promoted premature sexualising of young people, citing Casey Multifaith Networks’ concerns about explicit content.
“The community from so many walks of life have expressed outrage.”
It was a “sexually political agenda”, akin to a “communistic approach of having the child controlled by the state”, Cr Crestani said.
