A conservative Senator is behind automated calls to millions of Australians encouraging them to reject equal marriage.
Australia is currently holding a public vote on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, at the behest of the country’s right-wing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Though the Yes camp held a lead going into the vote, polling shows that the race has narrowed significantly, as anti-LGBT activists reap the rewards of a US-style scaremongering campaign and well-funded advertising blitz.
This week it emerged that Senator Cory Bernardi, the leader of the Australian Conservatives, is behind an effort to scare people into voting ‘No’.
The Senator has recorded an automated robocall in which he claims the vote will lead to “radical gay sex education and gender ideology”.
In a recording obtained by Channel Nine, he said: “Hello, it’s Senator Cory Bernardi calling from the Australian Conservatives, and I’d like to ask you something very important, so please, stay on the line for just a moment.
“As a parent I’m deeply concerned about how changing the Marriage Act will affect families and children.
“Changing the Marriage Act will limit the right of parents to object to radical gay sex education and gender ideology programs from being taught in schools.
“Removing gender from marriage means removing it from all areas of our society, including our schools.”
Recipients are then asked to specify how they are voting, an apparent attempt to justify it as a ‘poll’.
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