Campaigners against same-sex marriage are using the image of the late anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, and pushing the false claim that marriage equality will trigger the "compulsory" adoption of the Safe Schools program in all Australian schools.
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Leaflets distributed in Sydney this week by a group known as "Children's Future" claim a change to the Marriage Act will have "more consequences than most people realise" and lead to "unsafe schools".
"The radical 'Safe Schools' content will become compulsory in all schools and anti-discrimination laws will be used against parents who object," the group claims in a leaflet distributed around the Hornsby area.
The leaflets also claim schools will be forced to teach "all sexual orientations in sex-ed".
The use of Mandela - who the leaflet quotes as having said "Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future" - will likely further inflame tensions between the gay community and "no" campaigners.
Mandela was the first African leader to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation through a change to South Africa's constitution in 1997 and appointed Edwin Cameron as the first openly gay judge to the country's high court in 1994.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham and NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli on Thursday rejected any link between same-sex marriage, the Coalition's proposed plebiscite on the subject, and programs run in the state-based school system.
A spokesman for Mr Birmingham said: "There is no impact on the Safe Schools program as a result of the same-sex marriage plebiscite".
Mr Piccoli said: "The Safe Schools Hub is an optional federal government resource, which can be used by any Australian school. Safe Schools will not be made compulsory in NSW.
"It is unhelpful to give parents inaccurate and misleading information in relation to their children's education."
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong said: "This just highlights the lies, and the hurt that will be unleashed by Malcolm Turnbull's expensive, divisive and non-binding plebiscite".
Australian Marriage Equality campaigner Tiernan Brady described the claims of Children's Future as a "deeply cynical attempt to deceive the Australian people" and said it was a symptom of the "no" campaign realising it had already lost the argument up against 70 per cent support in the community.
"This is classic political deception where if you can't persuade people of your case you pretend there's something else going on. We saw this in Ireland [during the referendum campaign] and we're now seeing it in Australia," he said.
He said Children's Future, which does not identify any of its organisers on its website or in the leaflets it is circulating, is likely to be a "shopfront organisation" for the better-known members of the "no" campaign.
"It can produce this dishonest and vicious material and they can do a Pontius Pilate and pretend it's nothing to do with them."
Lyle Shelton, director of the Australian Christian Lobby, which is spearheading the "no" campaign, has made similar remarks, conflating same-sex marriage and Safe Schools.
He compared both to the "unthinkable things that happened in Germany in the 1930s".
The Children's Future website claims Safe Schools and same-sex marriage are "examples of the political and societal pressure on our kids to embrace an agenda which is hostile to the values of their families".
"Children's Future is mobilising, training and organising local supporters to speak directly with people. Via direct communication and a grassroots campaign we can bypass media gate-keepers and spread the word about marriage and the rights of children and families," it said.
The site links to videos, including a lecture by the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, an address by Hobart Archbishop Julian Porteous and the written testimonial of a man's "journey out of the gay lifestyle".
*Do you know more about Children's Future? contact haston@fairfaxmedia.com.au
