NZ transgender activists FURIOUS draft sex ed plan isn't WOKE enough
'You can't erase trans people from public life,' cry radical New Zealand activists over lack of loaded gender ideology in lessons for young children.
Pro-trans activists are outraged at the New Zealand Government’s draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, claiming it’s “dangerous” for not including explicit references to gender diversity and transgender identities.
The Ministry of Education released the draft for consultation last week, covering topics for students from Years 0 to 13. Notably absent were controversial terms like “transgender” and associated cultural references from the 2020 guidelines, such as the Māori term "takatāpui" — a marked departure from the previous version removed earlier this year.
InsideOUT managing director Tabby Besley told 1News the group was “incredibly disappointed” with the omissions.
“We think that's incredibly harmful for trans young people who deserve to see themselves reflected in the curriculum,” Besley said. “It's dangerous.”
@1NewsNZ hysterically shouts that some of the feedback on the draft framework on RSE says it’s “dangerous” ⚠️
— 𝓑𝓸𝓫 𝓜𝓬𝓒𝓸𝓼𝓴𝓻𝓲𝓮 🇳🇿 (@bobmccoskrienz) April 20, 2025
Who said that, you ask? Very good question.
It’s InsideOut - the radical group that has polluted the previous programme with extreme & hedonistic sexuality and harmful… pic.twitter.com/Da3OVCVzfI
While the new draft still includes some reference to sexual orientation and the term “intersex,” it omits same-sex parents from examples of family structures for children aged 9–10 and avoids framing gender in ideologically loaded terms which have caused concerns among parents not wanting their children indoctrinated with the woke belief system.
Besley lamented the shift: “It's incredibly frustrating to see a vulnerable group of young people's lives being politicised in this way just based on the coalition agreement and a small party who wanted this erasure, but you can't erase trans people from public life, from schools and we have to do better.”
Education Minister Erica Stanford defended the draft, praising its age-appropriate consent education: “Is it OK if someone wants to share my bike… should they have to ask, how should I respond. It builds it all the way through to talking about consent in a sexual term.”
WATCH 👀
— Brian Tamaki (@BrianTamakiNZ) June 20, 2024
Here's just a small extract of why the RSE curriculum in NZ schools should concern all parents...
The schools that are teaching RSE, need to be named and shamed.
They are grooming our kids.
They are oversexualising our kids and exposing them to inappropriate language… pic.twitter.com/bagFbiHeZi
The draft has been welcomed by advocates for parental rights and age-appropriate education. Let Kids Be Kids founder Penny Marie said the toned-down focus on gender diversity was “a step in the right direction.”
She raised concerns, however, about teaching 12-year-olds about “healthy sexual activity”: “Now, how can a 12-year-old have a healthy sexual activity? Because the age of consent is 16…”
Marie urged the Minister to “listen to the parents,” adding: “There’s a real concern that there is a push to not have parents being fully involved in this.”
Consultation on the draft runs until May 9.
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