Victorian Family First upper house candidates Jane Foreman and Bernie Finn have slammed Premier Jacinta Allan for arrogantly dismissing legitimate concerns from parents over the "Respectful Relationships" program and its role in funnelling children towards harmful gender clinics. "The concerned mother is right," Mrs Foreman said. "The updated Respectful Relationships curriculum is not simply about preventing violence – it's introducing fringe gender theories to children as young as five, creating a school-to-clinic pipeline that pushes vulnerable kids toward dangerous and irreversible medical interventions." The Victorian Department of Education's own lesson plans now teach that a child's body parts may not match their "true" gender and promote biological males playing in girls' sports. These ideas, when planted in impressionable minds, risk fast-tracking children to so-called 'gender-affirming care' — a model now abandoned in the UK after the independent Cass Review found the evidence base for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones was "remarkably weak". "Instead of listening to the clear findings of the Cass Review, Ms Allan chose to attack the messenger and smear journalists who are exposing what's happening in our classrooms," Mr Finn said. "This is not leadership – it's ideological arrogance at the expense of children's wellbeing." Family First is making a clear pledge:
- Close all child gender clinics in Victoria, bringing policy into line with the UK's evidence-based approach.
- Establish a Royal Commission to uncover how the medical and education systems were captured by gender ideology and to ensure it can never happen again.
- Create a compensation fund for those irreversibly harmed by medicalised gender transition as minors, recognising the lifelong consequences many are now living with.
"Parents, not political activists, should decide what their children are taught about sex and gender," Mrs Foreman said. "Jacinta Allan's government has shown utter contempt for parents' rights and for the growing body of medical evidence warning against this harmful ideology." Mr Finn added: "This is about protecting children from irreversible harm, restoring parental authority, and bringing truth and science back into policy. Family First will not rest until this dangerous experiment on Victorian children is stopped and those responsible are held to account."
