They hid gender transitions from parents in schools. They hired six-figure diversity bureaucrats on the public dime. Now a government-funded booklet tells Victorian parents that praying with their child is harmful. Jane Foreman says this is a pattern — and Family First will end it.
A government-funded parenting guide published by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) on the very same page that lists certain prayers as harmful conduct, acknowledges that parents have a legal right to share their beliefs and values with their children, immediately warning that "there are laws against doing things that could harm your child." The implication is unmistakable.
This is not a one-off. This is a government that hid gender transitions from parents in schools, spent $11.2 million on LGBTQIA+ programs while hiring near-$200,000 diversity bureaucrats, and is now telling faith-based families that their prayers are harmful. The Allan government has declared war on parents — and it is using our own money to fight it.
The booklet, "Talking with Your Child About Sexuality and Gender Identity," published in April 2025, is framed around Victoria's Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021, which carries criminal penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment. A 2026 multi-faith submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission's review of the Act — signed by Catholic, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim and other leaders representing more than two million Victorians — argued the legislation extends far beyond its stated purpose and has created a chilling effect on families and faith communities.
"The VEOHRC booklet is designed to intimidate. A Catholic mother who prays with her child, a Muslim father who shares his faith — this government wants them to feel like criminals."
Family First exposed that Victorian Department of Education policy explicitly instructs school staff not to inform parents when a child seeks to change their gender identity at school — name, pronouns, and social presentation — and that no formal process exists to oversee such decisions. Before that, Family First revealed the Allan government was advertising a six-figure "Equality Programs Manager" role to help deliver its $11.2 million LGBTQIA+ spending agenda, as the state's debt surges toward $200 billion. Now comes a government booklet that warns parents their faith could be breaking the law
"Schools kept secrets from parents. Bureaucrats pocketed six-figure salaries to push ideology. And now parents are told their prayers could harm their children. At what point does the Allan government accept that it has gone too far? Family First will restore the rights of parents — in the classroom, in the home, and in the law."
—
