‘Completely inappropriate': Parents of elite boys school outraged over queer activist sex video
Institute of Public Affairs Colleen Harkin says it is 'extremely inappropriate' for a queer Palestinian activist to expose school children to an obscene sex act video of himself.
He was invited by Trinity Grammar as a Pride Month guest speaker, and students later looked up his social media accounts, where they found a video of the activist performing a lewd act with a sex toy.
Trinity Grammar explained that this speaker was recommended by the taxpayer-funded Victorian Pride Centre.
'Unfortunately, it is sort of part of a pattern of radical ideology that's being presented in schools that parents don't know anything about,' Ms Harkin told Sky News host Rita Panahi.
'It takes two seconds to do a social media check on the speaker and his digital footprint.
'They're using schools as a pipeline for activism, and it's completely inappropriate.
'No school children ought to be exposed to this.
'Schools need to be focused on core academic achievement, not sort of introducing children into all of this ideology that has no place.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Trump's strike on Iran supercharges Netanyahu's comeback
Alternatively, if the Iranian response is limited, the Israeli government may wind down the war, satisfied that it has achieved most of what it hoped for, and conscious that a longer conflict risks straining Israel's air-defence system. 'The ball is in the Iranian yard,' said Major General Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence. 'If Iran keeps on firing missiles, Israel will continue its own strikes and pursue more achievements, targeting Iran's missile launchers and missile factories, its oil industry and its civilian leadership.' Regardless of what happens next in Iran, Netanyahu's success has already changed the political landscape in Israel. After Israel began striking Iran more than a week ago, broadcasters published opinion polling that suggested his coalition had greater support than at almost any point since the start of Israel's war with Hamas in late 2023. On Sunday morning, Jerusalem time, his biggest domestic critics even applauded the success of his campaign, including his achievement in persuading US President Donald Trump to join the battle and destroy targets that Israeli warplanes could not reach. 'I don't have a problem with him enjoying this moment,' Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, said of Netanyahu in a radio interview. 'This is a success for Netanyahu, a success for Trump, and a success for the free world. This is what needed to happen.' Buoyed by the blow against Iran, Netanyahu could show greater flexibility in the negotiations to reach a new truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, analysts said. Loading For most of the war, he has avoided reaching a deal in Gaza that would allow Hamas' remnant leadership to retain significant influence in the territory. Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners repeatedly threatened to quit the government if the Gaza war ended without Hamas' total defeat. And with Netanyahu's party languishing in the polls, he appeared unwilling to make concessions in the talks that risked the collapse of his political alliance, most recently during renewed negotiations in May. Now, Netanyahu has options. Having exacted a price from Iran, Hamas' biggest benefactor, Netanyahu may be able to persuade his coalition to compromise in the talks with Hamas itself, according to his former adviser, Nadav Shtrauchler. 'Soon he hopefully will be able to say: 'We changed the Middle East. Now we need to be more flexible on other fronts – in Gaza and regarding the hostages',' Shtrauchler said. 'It will not happen tomorrow, but a window of opportunity has been opened.' If he does agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, that in turn would raise the chances of Netanyahu's achieving another long-held ambition: the normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's most powerful country. In talks last year with US diplomats, officials said, Saudi Arabia signalled its openness to such a landmark deal – if the war ends in Gaza and if Netanyahu agrees to Palestinian sovereignty. Loading The former is still a long shot, and the latter is even less likely, given Netanyahu's resistance to a Palestinian state. But since he may be less beholden to his far-right allies, the prime minister could have more room to manoeuvre. 'It's now easier for him to make big diplomatic moves like a Saudi deal,' Shtrauchler said.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's strike on Iran supercharges Netanyahu's comeback
Alternatively, if the Iranian response is limited, the Israeli government may wind down the war, satisfied that it has achieved most of what it hoped for, and conscious that a longer conflict risks straining Israel's air-defence system. 'The ball is in the Iranian yard,' said Major General Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence. 'If Iran keeps on firing missiles, Israel will continue its own strikes and pursue more achievements, targeting Iran's missile launchers and missile factories, its oil industry and its civilian leadership.' Regardless of what happens next in Iran, Netanyahu's success has already changed the political landscape in Israel. After Israel began striking Iran more than a week ago, broadcasters published opinion polling that suggested his coalition had greater support than at almost any point since the start of Israel's war with Hamas in late 2023. On Sunday morning, Jerusalem time, his biggest domestic critics even applauded the success of his campaign, including his achievement in persuading US President Donald Trump to join the battle and destroy targets that Israeli warplanes could not reach. 'I don't have a problem with him enjoying this moment,' Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, said of Netanyahu in a radio interview. 'This is a success for Netanyahu, a success for Trump, and a success for the free world. This is what needed to happen.' Buoyed by the blow against Iran, Netanyahu could show greater flexibility in the negotiations to reach a new truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, analysts said. Loading For most of the war, he has avoided reaching a deal in Gaza that would allow Hamas' remnant leadership to retain significant influence in the territory. Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners repeatedly threatened to quit the government if the Gaza war ended without Hamas' total defeat. And with Netanyahu's party languishing in the polls, he appeared unwilling to make concessions in the talks that risked the collapse of his political alliance, most recently during renewed negotiations in May. Now, Netanyahu has options. Having exacted a price from Iran, Hamas' biggest benefactor, Netanyahu may be able to persuade his coalition to compromise in the talks with Hamas itself, according to his former adviser, Nadav Shtrauchler. 'Soon he hopefully will be able to say: 'We changed the Middle East. Now we need to be more flexible on other fronts – in Gaza and regarding the hostages',' Shtrauchler said. 'It will not happen tomorrow, but a window of opportunity has been opened.' If he does agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, that in turn would raise the chances of Netanyahu's achieving another long-held ambition: the normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's most powerful country. In talks last year with US diplomats, officials said, Saudi Arabia signalled its openness to such a landmark deal – if the war ends in Gaza and if Netanyahu agrees to Palestinian sovereignty. Loading The former is still a long shot, and the latter is even less likely, given Netanyahu's resistance to a Palestinian state. But since he may be less beholden to his far-right allies, the prime minister could have more room to manoeuvre. 'It's now easier for him to make big diplomatic moves like a Saudi deal,' Shtrauchler said.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'Flat-footed': Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convenes National Security Committee 24 hours after US strikes on Iran
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has convened a meeting of the National Security Committee of Cabinet almost 24 hours after the United States conducted strikes against Iran. The committee includes Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Defence Minister Richard Marles, and other cabinet members. Mr Albanese has not made a public appearance since US President Donald Trump confirmed the strikes on Sunday. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong finally expressed support for the US attacks on Monday after initially failing to back Australia's closest ally. 'What happens now matters. We do not want to see escalation. We call for diplomacy, de-escalation and dialogue,' Ms Wong said at a doorstop press conference on Monday. 'The world does not want to a full-scale war in the Middle East.' Ms Wong also told reporters that Australia was 'not a central player' in the Israel-Iran conflict. Two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) planes landed in Dubai on Sunday ahead of repatriation flights for Australians stranded in Israel. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) there were about 2,900 Australians in Iran and 1,300 in Israel who were seeking to leave the region. Acting shadow foreign affairs minister Andrew Hastie, in response, criticised the Albanese government for being "flat-footed" in its response to the conflict on Monday. 'I think, though, what yesterday demonstrated was that the prime minister's flat-footed," he told the ABC. "His instincts aren't great on this, and he should have called a NSC (National Security Council) meeting yesterday for an event of such significance." Shadow competition minister Dave Sharma also told Sky News that Australia had made itself 'irrelevant' through the conflict. 'We had (Defence Minister) Richard Marles… calling for de-escalation at the very same time, almost, that US B2 bombers… were striking nuclear targets in Iran,' he said. 'No one listens to our views seriously anymore on these issues, particularly in the Middle East.' Just hours before President Donald Trump confirmed the US had destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities, Mr Marles had called for 'de-escalation'. "The Iranian nuclear ballistic missile program is most definitely a threat to the peace and stability of not only the Middle East," he told Sky News on Sunday. 'We have used our voice to urge de-escalation. And that's our position in respect of both the Iranian program, but also, more specifically, in respect of this conflict.' Mr Marles was asked if he was having '$1 each way' by not explicitly supporting the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, prohibiting their access to world-ending technology. The Defence Minister stumbled over his answer as he attempted to explain the government's stance on the matter. 'Uh, uh. Um, I'm... articulating the Australian government's position. That's the only thing I can articulate,' Mr Marles said. 'We are making it clear that we see that the Iranian program represents a threat to the peace and stability of the region and the world... 'What we're saying in relation to this specific conflict is that we are worried about its prospect for escalation.' Roughly 24 hours later, Ms Wong insisted the government was 'very clear' in its support for US strikes against Iran. 'Australia has been clear, along with the international community, that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,' she told reporters at Parliament House. 'We support action to prevent that from occurring and this is what this was.' Her comments mark a notable shift in tone from the carefully worded government statement released on Sunday. That initial statement did not include any reference to Australia 'supporting' the US action.
