4 December 2000

Graham Capill
Party Leader

Party Leader Graham Capill has criticised the Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard, for “entrenching the State’s failed sex education programme of the past two decades”.

Mr Capill said today that, “It is time to dismantle the current sex education programme, not entrench it. The message that Family Planning has been preaching for two decades has failed. Given that, the Government has no moral authority to entrench it, rather it should be holding Family Planning to account and demanding a new direction in sex education. Until there are less abortions, STDs, and teenage pregnancies, it is a case of the ‘pot calling the kettle black’.

“The Government should also be asking why such a large percentage of schools rejected sex education programmes while it was optional. Clearly parents on Board’s of Trustees have lost confidence in the worth of the politically correct, liberal nonsense that has been promoted in the name of sex education. The only reason the Government is now making it compulsory is to force its particular brand of immoral sexuality on a wider section of the community.

“Before sex education can work, it will need to be fixed into a moral framework. It is not simply a question of putting condoms on bananas. Instead of dismissing out of hand chastity programmes, such as the Straight Talk Australia programme that was recently in New Zealand, it should be encouraging the chastity option.

“Recent survey’s done by the University of Otago show that most young people who had sex under 16 years of age regretted it by the time they were 21. The medical profession have also described the current level of STDs amongst young people as ‘an epidemic’. Given these facts, the Government should be listening, rather than dictating more of the same failed policies of the last two decades.

“Private and Integrated schools will simply find a way around this legislation. They will use the requirement to consult with parents as a way to redirect the demands of the new curriculum. Some schools will get around the legislation by teaching it as part of religious studies, thereby thwarting the government’s intentions.

In the interest of children, it is time to introduce a new programme that:
 Promotes family values and teaches them in schools.
 Educates parents as to how to handle these matters; does not just take over on their behalf.
 Encourages marriage for life.
 Enforces the law with respect to underage sex.
 Tightens censorship, so that there is less perversion of the minds of children and adults alike.
 Promotes chastity in upper primary and secondary schools.

“Christian Heritage is convinced that such an approach would see a dramatic drop in teenage pregnancies and violent, sexual crime. It would also allow children to be children, without adults manipulating their sensitive minds from a very young age,” Mr Capill concluded.

Christian Heritage would review taxpayers’ funding of Family Planning and allied organizations where they have failed to achieve positive results.

Contact: Party Leader Graham Capill Direct Line: (03) 352 6720 or mobile: (021) 661 766

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