Liberal senator Ian Macdonald has argued that parents have a right to protect their children from finding out that their friends have same-sex parents.
The soon to be retiring Liberal senator is chairing a senate inquiry into the proposed legislation to protect LGBTIQ students from discrimination in schools.
During hearings in Sydney yesterday Senator Macdonald responded to a contribution from the Australian Human Rights Commission saying parents had a right to protect their children from discovering the existence of rainbow families.
Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow spoke in favour of the proposed amendments to the anti-discrimination bill put forward by Labor saying they would provide certainty and support to rainbow families. The senator from Queensland added his thoughts saying the idea of children having same-sex parents made some people uncomfortable.
“The example given was someone having two dads and the rainbow family children, and other children might not have felt comfortable about that,” he said. “The alternative also applies for the majority of families who might not want their children to think about children with two dads. Whether that’s right or wrong is irrelevant from my point of view, but it does show that other people have rights too.”
The Greens senator Janet Rice, who is also on the committee, later told Junkee that it was time for Macdonald to get over his concerns about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
“According to Ian Macdonald’s flawless logic, his personal uneasiness about two men sharing a bed means that school students shouldn’t know if their friends have gay dads. Or something,” she said. “His comments demonstrate exactly why we need to remove discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people in schools. We LGBTIQ+ people exist, it’s time Macdonald gets over it.”
OIP Staff
