tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/steve-dickson-46024/articlesSteve Dickson – The Conversation2019-03-26T03:45:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1142882019-03-26T03:45:57Z2019-03-26T03:45:57ZDid Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into One Nation overstep the mark?<p>The sheer audacity of Al Jazeera’s three-year ruse is astounding. </p>
<p>The news company’s investigation unit has carried out a sting that has captured both the National Rifle Association of the United States and Australia’s One Nation Party in all sorts of compromising positions. </p>
<p>The series, “<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/sell-massacre-nra-playbook-revealed-190325111828105.html">How to sell a massacre</a>”, has exposed the NRA’s manipulative media practices and revealed One Nation’s desire to cosy up to the US gun lobby to find ways of funding its domestic campaign to overturn our gun laws. </p>
<p>The documentary has exposed the thinking of some of the party’s most senior figures about taking control of the parliament and their obsession with Muslim <a href="https://www.onenation.org.au/policies/immigration-and-the-rule-of-law/">immigration</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How to Sell a Massacre P1 | Al Jazeera Investigations.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Al Jazeera senior producer Peter Charley did this by placing actor-turned journalist Rodger Muller in the field to impersonate the head of a fake pro-gun lobby group called Gun Rights Australia. The pair then pandered to One Nation’s desire for financial support and international endorsement and exploited US gun lobbyists’ fears about Australia’s strict gun laws. </p>
<p>They got away with this for three years, gaining unprecedented access to the halls of the NRA and to the minds of two One Nation officials, Queensland state leader <a href="https://www.onenation.org.au/our-team/steve-dickson/">Steve Dickson</a> and the party’s <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/how-james-ashby-became-pauline-hansons-right-hand-man/news-story/f1ca8bf7fba2d663920259dca1caa0e3">controversial</a> chief of staff, James Ashby.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australias-nra-inspired-gun-lobby-is-trying-to-chip-away-at-gun-control-laws-state-by-state-105667">How Australia's NRA-inspired gun lobby is trying to chip away at gun control laws, state by state</a>
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<h2>A matter of ethics</h2>
<p>There are at least two ethical questions about this documentary. </p>
<p>The first is whether the producers have overstepped the mark by not only reporting what they saw but creating the scenario in which the events occurred.</p>
<p>The second concerns the program’s extensive use of hidden cameras. </p>
<p>On the first matter, the issue is whether the program created the meeting between One Nation and the NRA and therefore acted irresponsibly by entrapping the subjects of the film. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2019/03/undercover-expose-australia-gun-lobby-190325120818734.html">his account</a> of what happened, Rodger Muller put it this way: </p>
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<p>Then Charley asked me to contact Pauline Hanson’s One Nation – a far-right pro-gun Australian political party. Charley wanted me to find out if any connections existed between One Nation and the US gun lobby. And so began another chapter in my life as an avid “gunner”.</p>
<p>When I approached One Nation Chief of Staff James Ashby and mentioned my NRA connections, he told me he wanted to visit the US to meet them. I set up meetings in Washington and soon Ashby and One Nation’s Steve Dickson were on a flight to the US.</p>
<p>I was there, ready to meet them. And our hidden cameras were all primed and ready to go. </p>
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<p>This suggests that Muller and Al Jazeera were catalysts and enabled the connection between One Nation and the NRA. But it also demonstrates that there was a desire on the part of One Nation to meet the US gun lobby, and – as later becomes clear - the party was motivated to do so to raise funds and make political connections. </p>
<h2>So is this responsible journalism?</h2>
<p>The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance <a href="https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/">code of ethics</a> – the protocols by which thoughtful journalists operate in Australia – is largely silent on this issue. </p>
<p>It doesn’t say anything explicitly about creating the news by making connections between players to observe what happens next. But it does stress the need to “report and interpret honestly”. </p>
<p>It calls on reporters to use “fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material” and to “respect personal privacy”. But the code also acknowledges journalists both scrutinise and exercise power. The preamble makes the point that journalism animates democracy. </p>
<p>Most importantly, in its guiding cause, the code states:</p>
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<p>ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. </p>
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<p>It allows for any of its other clauses to be overridden to achieve “substantial advancement of the public interest”. </p>
<p>So is it wrong to make and enable connections that might not otherwise happen in order to observe the outcomes? Is this fair and honest and responsible? </p>
<p>Like many things, the answer might be dependent on the motivation. From where I stand, it looks like Al Jazeera’s motivation was to get to the heart of something fundamentally important that would otherwise remain opaque. </p>
<h2>Breaches of privacy and deceptive conduct</h2>
<p>And while we’re pondering that one, there’s the perennial ethical question about hidden cameras. </p>
<p>This isn’t your garden variety case of a tabloid TV program exposing a dodgy car salesmen or a real estate scammer. In this film, the use of hidden cameras directly places several parts of the code of ethics against that all important public interest override. </p>
<p>The question is whether the public’s right to know is so important that it justifies the film’s deceptive conduct and breaches of privacy.</p>
<p>For me, the use of hidden cameras can clearly be defended when a publicly funded Australian political party, that knows what it’s doing is dodgy, is making connections to “change Australia” by gaining the balance of power in the parliament and “working hand in glove with the United States”.</p>
<p>It is highly likely the extent of One Nation’s behaviour could only be exposed through this sort of reportage. James Ashby is captured repeatedly reminding others they need to be secretive in their dealings with the NRA.</p>
<p>The public has a clear right to know what One Nation is up to. This is especially the case when part of its mission is to learn new techniques to manipulate the public debate to pursue an agenda of overturning the ban on guns following the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre. </p>
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<h2>The NRA are media experts</h2>
<p>There’s something else about this program that justifies the use of hidden cameras. It exposes the utter cynicism of the media messaging and media training that underpins the NRA like nothing I have ever seen before. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-nra-can-teach-us-about-the-art-of-public-persuasion-85610">What the NRA can teach us about the art of public persuasion</a>
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<p>In a closed meeting with NRA officials, One Nation is given a crash course on how to deal with bad press, particularly following mass shootings. </p>
<p><a href="https://gunfreedomradio.com/guests/lars-dalseide/">Lars Dalseide</a>, an NRA media liaison officer, is captured saying pro-gun lobbyists should smear supporters of gun control by accusing them of exploiting the tragedy. </p>
<p>He even provides a useful retort to anyone who might suggest that gun ownership might be a factor in a mass shooting. He says: </p>
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<p>How dare you stand on the graves of those children to put forth your political agenda.</p>
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<p>“Just shame them to the whole idea,” he suggests, by arguing pro-gun campaigners should declare to opponents: </p>
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<p>If your policy isn’t good enough to stand on its own, how dare you use their deaths to push that forward.</p>
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<p>As he says this, Ashby is recorded replying: “That’s really good, very strong”.</p>
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<p>Some of that phrasing seems familiar in the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch massacre, suggesting parts of the NRA’s playbook have already made their way <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/richard-di-natale-is-using-christchurch-massacre-to-score-political-mileage-andrew-bolt/video/f59e2e416650faddf62c2070aea45014">down under</a>.</p>
<p>This documentary underscores two things. </p>
<p>The brutal tactics of the gun lobby and the operations of One Nation need exposing. Journalism sometimes has to take on the unsavoury job of extracting the truth from those who do not want to share it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dodd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Al Jazeera report makes for powerful viewing. But from a journalistic point of view, is it ethical?Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883052017-12-10T19:12:37Z2017-12-10T19:12:37ZDespite the election hype, some of the media attention on One Nation was justified<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197681/original/file-20171204-22967-1tzi67h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pauline Hanson's One Nation will hold just one seat in the Queensland parliament following the state election. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Twice this year, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party has generated lots of media attention in state election campaigns only to finish up doing badly.</p>
<p>In March, the party garnered only 4.9% of the statewide vote and won no seats in the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/wa-election-2017/">Western Australian lower house</a> (it won three upper house seats). In November, it won 13.71% of the vote but <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/qld-election-2017/results/list/">only one seat</a> in Queensland’s unicameral parliament. In each case, One Nation contested not quite two-thirds of the lower house seats.</p>
<p>So, why does a party that seems so electorally marginal generate so much media attention?</p>
<h2>One Nation and news values</h2>
<p>An analysis of the coverage by Brisbane’s only daily newspaper, The Courier-Mail, of the Queensland campaign shows the seemingly disproportionate attention given to One Nation to be the result of a potent news-making brew: political vaudeville and genuine potential electoral clout, fortified by the attentions of a newspaper intoxicated by the anticipated possibilities.</p>
<p>The vaudeville was never edifying and mostly nasty.</p>
<p>There was Hanson’s <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/09/18/17/19/pauline-hanson-blames-m1-freeway-congestion-on-immigrants">bizarre claim</a> that traffic congestion on the M1 motorway was somehow linked with the federal government’s immigration program. Too many migrants clogging up the roads, she argued.</p>
<p>There was One Nation’s <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/one-nation-unveils-controversial-domestic-violence-policy/news-story/d21c5bd31b9808eadba4996396b0b02a">policy on domestic violence</a>, which would have relaxed restrictions on access visits by fathers against whom the courts had issued protection orders.</p>
<p>There was Hanson <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/politics/one-nations-sex-shop-trainwreck-interview-in-townsville/news-story/fb8d28142db225415f03035c61e4645e">defending a One Nation candidate</a> who owned a sex shop and who compared “good sex” with domestic violence.</p>
<p>There was One Nation’s Queensland leader, Steve Dickson, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-11/annastacia-palaszczuk-rubbishes-one-nations-safe-schools-claim/9141520">asserting that</a>, as part of the Safe Schools program, primary school children were being taught how to masturbate and use dildos.</p>
<p>What is a newspaper supposed to do with this stuff? After all, these people are standing for public office and their outpourings deserve scrutiny and exposure.</p>
<p>The ethical response is to apply some kind of public-interest test. Giving free publicity to salacious or xenophobic rubbish is not defensible. On the other hand, a stated policy position that puts children at risk from violent fathers is a real news story. It richly deserved the extensive and condemnatory coverage the newspaper gave it.</p>
<p>One Nation’s potential political clout was likewise a genuinely big news story. It played into the pre-existing narrative about minor parties benefiting from voter disaffection with the major parties.</p>
<p>In what the polls were indicating was going to be a tight election, it also offered the prospect that One Nation might hold the balance of power. Drama, controversy, unpredictability: three strong news values at any time, and The Courier-Mail made the most of them.</p>
<h2>Was the attention so unwarranted?</h2>
<p>In September, two months before the election, it was framing routine news stories about the incumbent Labor government’s health and employment policies as being designed to lure disaffected voters who were said to be moving to One Nation.</p>
<p>It <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/state-election-2017/queensland-election-2017-one-nation-banks-on-usstyle-voter-backlash/news-story/0e430e8a3da309d0e7dcec90d6697cc7">was describing</a> One Nation as “resurgent”. Liberal National Party candidates whose seats were not being contested by One Nation <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/one-nation-will-not-run-a-candidate-against-cleveland-mp-mark-robinson/news-story/4dcff2d58aa0cc80f4cc76598a23cecf">were described</a> as having been “spared”. Dickson was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/queensland-election-one-nation-aiming-for-balance-of-power/news-story/871038415eb6d8c65b6df2dc4463f62c">reported to be “adamant”</a> that One Nation would hold the balance of power. One Nation <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/queensland-election-one-nation-aiming-for-balance-of-power/news-story/871038415eb6d8c65b6df2dc4463f62c">was</a> “tipped to win a swag of seats outside Brisbane”.</p>
<p>There was some evidence for this. Polling <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/support-for-one-nation-has-leapt-from-16-per-cent-to-23-per-cent-in-past-three-months-poll-shows/news-story/e3d6786186f7316c6f1f9d92080bcab1">showed big swings to One Nation</a>. Bookmakers’ election charts showed One Nation gaining ground. </p>
<p>In The Courier-Mail’s news-speak, One Nation was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/state-election-2017/queensland-election-2017-one-nation-supporter-snapshot/news-story/6699b25b38856fb0e861808fe24c8694">“poised to wreak havoc”</a>. Sounds good, doesn’t it: “tipped”, “poised to wreak havoc”.</p>
<p>But then came a sobering reality check: the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/state-election-2017/queensland-election-2017-galaxy-poll-finds-one-nation-surge/news-story/6ae385083b84ec95a0f8016962ea761a">first poll of the campaign</a> showed One Nation’s share of the statewide primary vote as 18%. This was <a href="https://theconversation.com/queensland-galaxy-one-nation-surges-to-23-72840">down from 23%</a> in February.</p>
<p>Yet the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-election-2017-labor-lnp-leaders-focus-on-one-nation-hot-seats-to-halt-regional-surge/news-story/cf712c19fd78b7071fa5c2583e7efb23">dramatic news-speak continued</a>. There was a “blitz” by the major parties on regional seats said to be “under siege” from One Nation. Hanson <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/state-election-2017/queensland-election-2017-galaxy-poll-finds-one-nation-surge/news-story/6ae385083b84ec95a0f8016962ea761a">was about to</a> “jet into the Queensland campaign tomorrow poised to handpick the state’s next premier”. There’s that word “poised” again.</p>
<p>As if to give substance to this premature excitement, readers were reminded that One Nation’s 18% of the vote was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/state-election-2017/queensland-election-2017-one-nations-party-power-unsettling-for-voters/news-story/50c8afc2c5eed1a964d2653f4388a881">only 4.7 percentage points</a> short of the 22.7% it received in the 1998 election, when it won 11 seats in the Queensland parliament. Could history from nearly 20 years ago repeat itself?</p>
<p>Well, no. The poll showing One Nation with 18% of the primary vote also showed Labor on 35% and the LNP on 32%.</p>
<p>The language around One Nation’s chances was scaled back. By way of explanation, the newspaper reported that Queensland voters were concerned that One Nation might hold the balance of power, and believed this to be detrimental to the state.</p>
<p>It all seems such a beat-up in hindsight, and to some extent it looked like one at the time. But it was not entirely a beat-up. </p>
<p>One Nation did badly overall, but in the seats where all the media attention was focused, it really did mount a credible threat, as the following table shows. These seats were all mentioned in The Courier-Mail’s coverage as being at some degree of risk from One Nation – and, except for Mansfield, the figures bear that out.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The seemingly disproportionate media attention given to One Nation is the result of a potent news-making brew.Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/874372017-11-22T01:16:53Z2017-11-22T01:16:53ZFactCheck: does the Safe Schools program contain ‘highly explicit material’?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194738/original/file-20171115-11296-14ajkw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson has been publicly critical of the Safe Schools program.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Regi Varghese</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>It contains highly explicit material directed at young children in their most formative years …</p>
<p><strong>– One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson, making reference to the Safe Schools program in a <a href="http://www.stevedickson.com.au/media-release/queensland-leader-of-one-nation-insists-that-the-controversial-safe-schools-program-be-permanently-abolished/">One Nation media release</a>, November 13, 2017.</strong></p>
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<p>At a recent press conference discussing One Nation’s policies for “protecting the whole family unit”, One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-11/annastacia-palaszczuk-rubbishes-one-nations-safe-schools-claim/9141520">claimed that</a> female students in Grade 4 were “being taught by teachers how to masturbate, how to strap on dildos, how to do this sort of stuff” under the Safe Schools program.</p>
<p>While Dickson later apologised for the “specific words” he used, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-14/one-nation-mp-steve-dickson-sorry-wording-safe-schools-claims/9147210">he went on to say</a> the information resource does contain “highly explicit material” that is being “directed at young children”.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the facts.</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>The Conversation contacted Steve Dickson’s office to request sources and comment, but did not hear back before deadline.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson’s claim that the Safe Schools program “contains highly explicit material directed at young children in their formative years” is incorrect.</p>
<p>There is no discussion of the details of specific sex acts, sex aids or sexual health in Safe Schools resources. </p>
<p>Safe Schools is an optional resource for schools and teachers. Its aim is to help school staff create safer and more inclusive environments for LGBTI students and families. </p>
<h2>What is the Safe Schools program?</h2>
<p>The Victorian government <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/Pages/safe-schools-coalition.aspx?Redirect=1#link93">first established</a> the <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/">Safe Schools Coalition Australia</a> in 2010. It’s now a <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/our-supporters/organisations">national network</a> convened by the <a href="https://www.fya.org.au/our-programs/">Foundation for Young Australians</a>, and delivered by <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/contact-us">partner organisations</a> in several states and territories.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/resources">published aim</a> of the Safe Schools Coalition is:</p>
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<p>… to help school staff create safer and more inclusive environments for same-sex-attracted, intersex and gender-diverse students, school staff and families.</p>
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<p>The program provides <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/resources">optional resources</a> for secondary schools, including professional development for teachers and one <a href="https://www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/resources/detail?id=72144922-d5c5-6d32-997d-ff0000a69c30#/">classroom-level teaching resource</a>, “All of Us”, designed for Year 7 and 8 students, who are generally aged between 11 and 14.</p>
<p>Safe Schools is supported in some form by several state and territory governments. But it is not a compulsory part of the curriculum in any Australian jurisdiction.</p>
<p>Safe Schools received <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/news/safe-schools-coalition-australia-launched">federal funding</a> for four years, <a href="http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/from-a-safe-schools-coalition-australia-ssca-spokesperson-4">but this ended in June 2017</a>. Some state and territory governments have committed to continue funding Safe Schools to make it available for government schools. </p>
<h2>The Safe Schools review</h2>
<p>In February 2016 I was asked by the federal education minister, Simon Birmingham, to review the resources given to schools under Safe Schools. I reported on the extent to which the resources were:</p>
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<li>consistent with the program’s aims</li>
<li>suitable and robust</li>
<li>age-appropriate</li>
<li>educationally sound, and </li>
<li>aligned to the Australian curriculum.</li>
</ul>
<p>Broadly, I <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_of_appropriateness_and_efficacy_of_the_ssca_program_resources_0.pdf">found</a> that the materials were consistent with the program’s aims, and suitable and appropriate for use in schools.</p>
<p>I recommended schools be given official guidelines around the context in which certain materials should be available, as well as around the suitability of material available on third-party websites recommended in the Safe Schools resources.</p>
<p>At that time, I found no school had implemented the whole eight-lesson “All of Us” classroom program, and that it was reasonable for teachers to decide how many of the resources to use based on their own school policy.</p>
<h2>How did the government respond?</h2>
<p>In response to my review, the <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/birmingham/statement-safe-schools-coalition">federal government introduced</a> a series of changes to the way Safe Schools operated. </p>
<p>Some lesson plans for the “All of Us” classroom resource were amended or removed to ensure they were suitable for all students and appropriate for their target age group. Some other resources were restricted to use in one-on-one discussions between students and key qualified staff.</p>
<p>The government recommended that schools consult with parents and parent bodies regarding the implementation of Safe Schools, and local program managers were required to ensure the distribution of the program was restricted to secondary schools only.</p>
<p>You can read more about those recommendations and changes <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/birmingham/statement-safe-schools-coalition">here</a>.</p>
<p>Not all states and territories implemented all of the changes, and as mentioned earlier, federal funding of the program has now ceased. You can read more about how Safe Schools is offered across Australia in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-will-safe-schools-be-mandatory-if-same-sex-marriage-is-legalised-84437">recent FactCheck</a>. It’s worth reiterating that the level of any school’s engagement with the program is optional. </p>
<h2>Does Safe Schools contain ‘highly explicit material’?</h2>
<p>The words “highly explicit” will mean different things to different people. </p>
<p>But there is certainly no discussion of the details of specific sex acts or sex aids or sexual health in the “All of Us” classroom resource or any other resources currently offered as part of Safe Schools.</p>
<p>The government’s changes meant the Safe Schools curriculum resource <a href="https://www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/docs/default-source/all-of-us-online-version-may-2016-v3-pdf2af89fb756c645d9b8492a68a39765f6.pdf?sfvrsn=0">“All of Us”</a>, which is designed for teachers to use with Year 7 and Year 8 students, was revised.</p>
<p>Any web links to third-party websites that may have contained material that some might consider explicit were removed. Birmingham’s changes included ensuring that any web links were government-funded organisations.</p>
<p>As it stands today, “All of Us” contains material on sexual diversity, homophobia and transphobia, gender identity and stereotypes, intersex characteristics, supportive and disrespectful behaviours, and school strategies to create a safer environment for LGBTI people. <strong>– Bill Louden</strong></p>
<h2>Blind review</h2>
<p>This is a sound FactCheck. </p>
<p>The author is correct: the Safe Schools Coalition provides optional resources for schools and educators, primarily designed to support gender diversity and same-sex attracted young people. The resources <em>do not</em> reference masturbation, or teach about sex toys or sex aids. </p>
<p>While federal government funding of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia program has completed, select Safe Schools resources are available on the <a href="studentwellbeinghub.edu.au">Student Wellbeing Hub</a>, which is funded by the Australian Department of Education. </p>
<p>Safe Schools does offer support and resources to primary school educators, but this is strictly on request only. Again, resources for primary schools <em>do not</em> teach or discuss or reference masturbation, or sex toys.</p>
<p>The author is correct that the <a href="https://www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/docs/default-source/all-of-us-online-version-may-2016-v3-pdf2af89fb756c645d9b8492a68a39765f6.pdf?sfvrsn=0">“All of Us”</a> resource is a health and physical education resource designed for years 7 and 8 students. It <em>does not</em> teach or discuss or reference masturbation, or sex toys. <strong>– Emma Rowe</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>The Conversation is fact-checking the Queensland election. If you see a ‘fact’ you’d like checked, let us know by sending a note via <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">email</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/conversationEDU">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a>. The Conversation <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversation-is-fact-checking-the-queensland-election-and-we-want-to-hear-from-you-86779">thanks James Cook University</a> for its support.</strong></p>
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<p><em>Have you seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">checkit@theconversation.edu.au</a>. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Louden has received funding in the past from state and federal governments. He was previously on the board of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). In 2016, Bill Louden was commissioned by Education Minister Simon Birmingham to conduct an independent review into the appropriateness and efficacy of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia program resources.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Rowe receives funding from National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. </span></em></p>One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson said the Safe Schools program contained ‘highly explicit material’ that is being ‘directed at young children’. We asked the experts to look at the facts.Bill Louden, Emeritus professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/873082017-11-14T19:15:11Z2017-11-14T19:15:11ZFactCheck: are ‘up to 21 fathers’ dying by suicide every week?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194214/original/file-20171111-29389-xkm22j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C66%2C938%2C820&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson, federal leader Pauline Hanson, and one of the party's Queensland election candidates, Tracey Bell-Henselin.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/glasshouse.phon/">Facebook</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>But the truth of the matter is, we’ve got to see what is going on in that family unit, because there are up to 21 fathers killing themselves every week in this country and people need to be aware of that.</p>
<p><strong>– One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/11/queensland-election-lnp-preferences-one-nation-before-labor-in-50-seats">speaking to media</a>, November 11, 2017.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Discussing One Nation’s domestic violence policy at a campaign event on the Sunshine Coast, One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/11/queensland-election-lnp-preferences-one-nation-before-labor-in-50-seats">said</a> “up to 21 fathers” were taking their lives in Australia every week.</p>
<p>The same number was cited in a <a href="http://www.stevedickson.com.au/media-release/one-nation-domestic-violence-policy-keeping-families-connected/">media statement</a> quoting Tracey Bell-Henselin, the party’s candidate for the Sunshine Coast seat of Glass House.</p>
<p>Bell-Henselin said there had been “an increase in male suicide, with estimates as high as 21 suicides per week because of the family breakdown nationally”.</p>
<p>Are Dickson and Bell-Henselin correct?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>Asked for sources to support Steve Dickson’s and Tracey Bell-Henselin’s claims, a One Nation spokesperson sent The Conversation a statement which quoted Dickson as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am being told by ambulance officers that they are attending more and more cases where a man has taken his own life after being through the family court system.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>There are no data available to support Steve Dickson’s assertion that there are “up to 21 fathers killing themselves every week in this country”. National statistics do not provide detail to show whether men who have died by suicide were fathers.</p>
<p>Tracey Bell-Henselin’s statement that there has been “an increase in male suicide, with estimates as high as 21 suicides per week because of the family breakdown nationally” is only partly supported by the facts.</p>
<p>There has been an overall increase in the number and rate of male deaths by suicide between 2007 and 2016. The <em>rate</em> of male deaths by suicide increased from 16.4 in 2007 to 17.9 in 2016.</p>
<p>In 2016, there were the equivalent of 41 male deaths by suicide per week in Australia.</p>
<p>If “family breakdown” is understood to mean the end of a romantic relationship, then this is a well-established risk factor for death by suicide among males.</p>
<p>However, there aren’t data to show exactly how many Australian male deaths by suicide may be associated with family breakdown, and we should avoid making claims about causation.</p>
<h2>Are ‘up to 21 fathers’ dying by suicide every week?</h2>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics is the key source of <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EIntentional%20self-harm:%20key%20characteristics%7E7">national suicide data</a>. </p>
<p>We can look at the number and rate of male death by suicide for all men.</p>
<p>In 2016 the total number of male deaths by suicide was 2,151. If we divide that number over the 52 weeks of a year, it works out to roughly 41 per week – almost double the number Dickson and Bell-Henselin cited. </p>
<p>That number is for all men, not only fathers. The national statistics can tell us how many people of a particular age and sex died by suicide, but don’t provide detail about life circumstances. They don’t tell us whether the person who died was a father, or had been in a family unit.</p>
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<h2>Has there been an increase in male suicide?</h2>
<p>Looking at these data, we can see there has been an increase in the number of male deaths by suicide over the past decade, from 1,699 deaths in 2007 to 2,151 in 2016.</p>
<p>There has also been an increase in the <em>rate</em> of male deaths by suicide, or deaths per 100,000 people, which accounts for changes in population size. The rate of male deaths by suicide increased from 16.4 in 2007 to 17.9 in 2016.</p>
<p>If we look at the most recent years, both the number and rate of male deaths by suicide in 2016 were slightly lower than in 2015 and 2014.</p>
<p>It is important to point out that the numbers are likely to change once the Australian Bureau of Statistics performs its <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3303.0Explanatory%20Notes12016?OpenDocument">standard data revisions</a>. Usually, the number of recorded deaths <em>rises</em> once the Australian Bureau of Statistics includes cases where coroner’s proceedings <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/198/9/reviewing-revisions-what-are-australian-bureau-statistics-suicide-figures-really">had not been finalised</a> at the time when those data were first collated.</p>
<p>So, at this stage, we’re not able to say <em>exactly</em> what has happened with male deaths by suicide over the last couple of years.</p>
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<h2>Can this be attributed to ‘family breakdown’?</h2>
<p>Bell-Henselin said “as many as 21” male deaths by suicide were “because of the family breakdown nationally”. </p>
<p>We can’t say with any certainty how many deaths were associated with “family breakdown”, or with any other events that may have preceded a death. Again, the national statistics do not provide this level of detail.</p>
<p>The term “family breakdown” will mean different things to different people. Bell-Henselin was speaking in the context of couples with children.</p>
<p>The term “family breakdown” could also be used to refer to circumstances like <a href="http://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/0227-5910/a000484">intimate relationship dissolution</a>, and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0192513X10365317">separation and divorce</a>.</p>
<p>If we include all these definitions, then Australian and international evidence does show associations between these life events and suicide risk. </p>
<p>A higher prevalence of suicide in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1943-278X.2000.tb01074.x/full">separated and divorced individuals</a> has long been noted. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19128839">Separation</a> and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0192513X13494824">recent divorce</a> appear to be important. These <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5172/jfs.1.2.91">acute life stressors</a> elevate the risk of suicide. </p>
<p>Relative to females, males <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0192513X14562608">may be at a higher risk</a> of suicide following relationship breakdown. And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19428116">Australian research</a> suggests that men’s suicide risk is further elevated if separation is coupled with shame relating to the event, lower education levels, and stressful legal negotiations. </p>
<p>So, it is fair to say that there is a <em>connection</em> between family breakdown – meaning relationship dissolution, separation or divorce – and deaths by suicide among males.</p>
<p>However, we cannot infer that suicide is <em>caused</em> by (or occurs “because of”) family breakdown. Suicide is a complex phenomenon, involving interactions between many different biological, psychological, and social factors. Therefore, we can’t say how many male deaths by suicide are “because of the family breakdown”. <strong>– Samara McPhedran</strong></p>
<h2>Blind review</h2>
<p>This is a sound FactCheck. The figures cited for male deaths by suicide are correct and the information regarding the risk factors for suicide has been taken from reliable sources.</p>
<p>Suicide is a complex phenomenon that has multiple causes and should never be attributed to one factor alone. <strong>– Jo Robinson</strong></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Update, 12.36pm, November 15, 2017: Following publication of this FactCheck, a One Nation spokesperson provided The Conversation with additional comment from Steve Dickson. You can read Dickson’s comment <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-one-nation-queensland-leader-steve-dickson-for-a-factcheck-on-fathers-dying-by-suicide-87512">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Anyone seeking support and information about suicide can contact <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> on 131 114, <a href="http://www.beyondblue.org.au/">beyondblue</a> 1300 22 46 36, or <a href="https://mensline.org.au/">MensLine Australia</a> 1300 78 99 78.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>The Conversation is fact-checking the Queensland election. If you see a 'fact’ you’d like checked, let us know by sending a note via <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">email</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/conversationEDU">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a>. The Conversation <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversation-is-fact-checking-the-queensland-election-and-we-want-to-hear-from-you-86779">thanks James Cook University</a> for its support.</strong></p>
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<p><em>Have you seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">checkit@theconversation.edu.au</a>. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson said ‘up to 21 fathers’ are taking their lives in Australia every week. Is that accurate?Samara McPhedran, Senior Research Fellow, Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/871932017-11-09T09:39:30Z2017-11-09T09:39:30ZPolitics podcast: swinging into the Sunshine State’s election<p>The pundits are reluctant to place bets on who will win Queensland’s November 25 election. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls both carry a good deal of baggage.</p>
<p>A lot of attention is focused on Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, which has been polling strongly and might end up holding the balance of power in the new parliament.</p>
<p>The Adani coal mine project has been centre-stage early in the campaign, with the Labor government saying it would veto any financing from the federal Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for the venture’s rail line.</p>
<p>During two days in Brisbane, Michelle Grattan spoke to Griffith University political scientist Anne Tiernan, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, Shadow Treasurer Scott Emerson, Queensland One Nation leader Steve Dickson, and The Courier-Mail’s national affairs editor Dennis Atkins.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pundits are reluctant to place bets on who will win Queensland's November 25 election.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.