WA election: Euthanasia, Safe Schools hot topics as Liberal, Labor leaders face Christian voters – ABC Online

Posted February 24, 2017 09:56:22

Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan have clashed over voluntary euthanasia and the Safe Schools program during a public question and answer session organised by the Australian Christian Lobby in the lead-up to the state election.

More than 500 people attended the event in Wangara on Thursday night to hear the WA Premier and Opposition Leader's stance on issues ranging from Aboriginal youth suicide and prostitution reform to babies surviving abortions.

Unlike Wednesday night's televised leaders' debate that focused on debt, deficit and unemployment, neither leader took aim at the other's credibility instead focusing on the social issues facing WA and drawing from personal experiences and anecdotes to help sell their case.

Two of the questions that raised a vocal reaction from the crowd were centred on euthanasia and the Safe Schools program.

Mr Barnett said while he had sympathy for people who had "painful and long deaths", he did not support euthanasia.

"I think it is an issue that is left to the family at the time and to the doctors," he told the crowd.

"I think palliative care and relying on professional moral ethics and religious standards and ethics is the way to go."

He was at odds with his opponent Mr McGowan, who used his personal experience of the death of a relative to explain why he backed assisted dying.

"He should have been able to make his own decision in those circumstances on the time of his passing," he said.

"Voluntary euthanasia, with appropriate safeguards, is something I personally support.

"My party has a position whereby it's a conscience vote, so every member of my caucus gets to vote according to their own point of view if a bill came before the Parliament."

Mr Barnett and Mr McGowan were also left at odds after being questioned about Safe Schools, a federally funded anti-bullying program designed to help educate students about sexual and gender diversity.

"Will your party commit to removing this highly controversial and sexualised program from all Western Australian schools?" a church leader asked.

Mr McGowan backed Safe Schools.

"A lot of young people who identify as gay are very likely to commit suicide. There are also problems with young people identifying as gay with being bullied at school," he said.

"My understanding of the program is that it provides advice to teachers and assistance to teachers in dealing with children or young people who might identify as gay.

"A public high school in Western Australia that wants to access that program on the advice of their school board and school community, I think is reasonable, and they should be able to access that program."

However, Mr Barnett disagreed.

"From my knowledge of it and I've never read the material but I've heard fellow members of Parliament describing it to me it encourages experimentation, promiscuity, to very young children," Mr Barnett said.

"I don't think that is any way what should happen in our school, and I don't think you should have situations where boys' could think ... they've got the right to use the girls' toilets.

"My view, and it's not a directive, but my view to schools [is] I do not want to see that program in our schools."

Mr Barnett said he believed fewer than 30 WA schools had incorporated the program into the curriculum.

Topics: elections, religion-and-beliefs, government-and-politics, schools, euthanasia, wa

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WA election: Euthanasia, Safe Schools hot topics as Liberal, Labor leaders face Christian voters - ABC Online