Tag: Magda Szubanski

Coalition for Marriage’s Karina Okotel thumbs her nose at Executive Council of Australian Jewry

On the “Same Sex Marriage Debate” episode of Q&A (Monday October 23 2017) Karina Okotel from the Coalition for Marriage dismissed claims from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry:

TONY JONES
I’m going to bring in Karina here, because obviously you’re concerned about these areas precisely.

KARINA OKOTEL
The short answer to your question is that if same-sex marriage is legalised, no, Christian schools will not be immune from the consequences that flow from that. And we’ve seen that just last week, when Theresa May in the UK said that one of her greatest achievements in her parliamentary career was legalising same-sex marriage. And the next step now is to ensure that there is LGBTI sex education in all schools – not just government schools, all schools.

TONY JONES
OK, Magda.

MAGDA SZUBANSKI
I actually… You said fact-check. I did fact-check a couple of the claims that you’ve made. One of them was about the guy who’s the prominent guy from Canada for the No campaign. And he said it’s been sort of put forward that because he wouldn’t accept teachings about gender and sex education, he was suing the school.
He had a six-year-long battle going on and his claims, his list of claims, included things like he didn’t want his children to be exposed to what he called false teachings, which meant the mere idea that there were other sets of values that existed, anything to do with the environment, to do with astrology, which is in newspapers everywhere, and wizards, meaning the kids couldn’t discuss… He wanted to be informed. It was not because of a difference of views, it was…it was unworkable.
And one more thing – the other one I want… You mentioned the Jewish school in London. I fact-checked that because I actually went to the site of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and they said that is inaccurate. If you want to tell the Jews how to run Jewish schools – because we’re talking about freedom of religion – it seems to me…

TONY JONES
Just to confirm, this is a story about a Jewish school in the UK and the suggestion or allegation that it was going to be forced to shut down because they were refusing to teach gender diversity?

MAGDA SZUBANSKI
And I’m not saying that’s inaccurate. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is saying that that’s inaccurate.

TONY JONES
We’ll quickly throw that to Karina.

KARINA OKOTEL
The council are the only ones who say that that’s inaccurate. Everyone else says that it is accurate…

MAGDA SZUBANSKI
They’re the peak body. They’re the peak body.

KARINA OKOTEL
The reports are on the internet. If you don’t believe that it’s true…

(LAUGHTER)

KARINA OKOTEL
..have a look at the very reports that are provided by the inspectorate itself.

MAGDA SZUBANSKI
So, you don’t accept the word of the peak body of Australian Jewry?

KARINA OKOTEL
It’s inaccurate to say that they didn’t face consequences as a result. The reality is that the inspector came, inspected the school and they failed inspections after same-sex marriage was legalised.

TONY JONES
I’m going to draw a line. People can fact-check…

KARINA OKOTEL
Please fact-check it. I would ask people to fact-check it.

TONY JONES
I’d expect the fact-checkers will fact-check it.

MAGDA SZUBANSKI
I did fact-check. The Jews fact-checked it. But they don’t know, apparently.

(LAUGHTER)

KARINA OKOTEL
They’re the only body that say that.

Gay Abandon – Jewish leader slams anti-bullying campaign | Melbourne mX

Front cover of the Melbourne mX, February 15, 2012.

[PDF]

Gay abandon – Jewish leader slams anti-bullying campaign
Nadia Salemme

Anti-bullying programs for gay teens
have been criticised by a Jewish leader
who says they are ‘‘unethical’’ and may
‘‘encourage homosexuality’’.

Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen’s comments
have been slammed by gay and lesbian
lobby groups, which have labelled them
‘‘damaging’’ and ‘‘irresponsible’’.

Cowen, a Monash University academic
and the son of former governor general
the late Sir Zelman Cowen, has
hit out at Safe Schools Coalition Victoria’s
program supporting gender
and sexual diversity in schools.

He said it was ‘‘using bullying as a
pretext to teach all school children that
homosexual conduct is equally normative
with heterosexual conduct’’.

‘‘This program could in fact cultivate
and encourage homosexuality amongst
many children who would ordinarily
grow into heterosexual lifestyles.

‘‘The bullying of homosexually inclined
children should be stopped
and it should be stopped by a process
which eliminates all kinds of bullying.

‘‘What the program wants to do is
tackle bullying by celebrating homosexuality
as one form of legitimate human
expression. To eliminate bullying
does not require that.

‘‘Let’s say a child was being bullied
because the child was fat, you don’t
have to celebrate obesity.’’

Cowen said he had ‘‘nothing against
people with homosexual inclinations’’
and wanted ‘‘a full parliamentary debate’’
into programs in schools.

But Safe Schools Coalition Victoria
co-ordinator Roz Ward said the comments
were ‘‘offensive’’.

‘‘The program has been widely well
received and is having an impact in
schools to reduce bullying and I just
think these kinds of comments are
unfounded,’’ Ward said.

‘‘It sounds like something you might
have heard in the 1950s.’’

Micah Scott, general manager of youth
gay and lesbian support centre Minus
18, said the view was ‘‘damaging’’.

‘‘Same-sex attracted young people
are . . . already a vulnerable group due
to homophobia,’’ Scott, 23, said.

It comes as Kath & Kim actor Magda
Szubanski, who publicly came out yesterday,
admitted she was suicidal as a
teenager.

‘‘I know how those kids feel, believe
me, I know how those kids feel,’’
Szubanski told 3AW today.