Peter Dutton‘s campaign team allegedly removed LGBTQ flags from a mental health foundation before he visited to promise $6.5million in funding.
The Opposition Leader attended the Headspace office in Melton in Melbourne‘s western suburbs on Wednesday to pledge the cash boost, which the Coalition claims will support 2,500 more young people in the local community.
‘This important investment builds on the Coalition’s proud record of strengthening the Headspace network and will be an important investment in Melbourne’s west to ensure access to mental health support for young Australians,’ Mr Dutton said.
But it has now been alleged that the Opposition Leader’s campaign team removed LGBTQ rainbow flags from a table in the venue before he arrived.
A social media user claimed Mr Dutton’s entourage ‘removed all queer flags’ from the table.
‘Hence why he was photographed in front of fish,’ they alleged.
‘The (Headspace) staff had to bite their tongue because they need $6.5 million.’
A spokesperson for Melton Headspace said: ‘I can confirm that several items were removed from the table by the Opposition Leader’s team ahead of yesterday’s media announcement, including a tall water jug and some flags.
The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended the Headspace office in Melton in Melbourne ‘s western suburbs on Wednesday to pledge the cash, which the Coalition claims will support 2,500 more young people in the local community
A spokesperson for Melton Headspace confirmed that some flags were removed from the table (pictured above) by Mr Dutton’s team before he would speak. It’s understood that this was done to ensure clear camera shots
‘I can also confirm that no posters, artworks or floor-standing flags were removed, nor was there any request to do so.’
It’s understood the flags were removed to ensure clear camera shots.
But Rodney Croome, long-time LGBTQ rights advocate and spokesperson for Just.Equal, suggested that Mr Dutton’s team should have considered the optics given that young LGBTQ Australians had a ‘higher mental health risk than other young people because of the discrimination, stigma and shame they experience’.
‘The reason Headspace has pride flags on display is to show young LGBTQ people who need its services that they are safe and supported,’ he said.
‘If Mr Dutton is sincere about reducing mental health risk among young Australians he would want Headspace to show more rainbow flags, not hide them.
‘To provide funds for mental health while shoving rainbows into the closet is to give with one hand and take with the other.’
A report published by Headspace in 2023 found that young people who identify as LGBTQ are more likely to seek support for mental health issues than their heterosexual peers.
A Coalition spokesperson said it ‘proudly supports youth mental health centers, including headspace’.
Rodney Croome, long-time LGBTQ rights advocate and spokesperson for Just.Equal, said: ‘If Mr Dutton is sincere about reducing mental health risk among young Australians he would want Headspace to show more rainbow flags, not hide them’ (pictured: Mr Dutton speaking to members of staff at the Melton Headspace)
‘In the Budget in Reply Peter Dutton announced a $400million package for youth mental health to expand headspaces,’ they added.
‘This is on top of our commitment double Medicare-subsidised sessions from 10 to 20.’
The flag imbroglio comes after Mr Dutton was slammed last month for using a ‘disgraceful’ term historically used to insult gay people to describe Anthony Albanese.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Lowy Institute think tank in March, the Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister’s response to the Chinese navy’s recent manoeuvres around Australia was ‘limp-wristed’.
‘It was the weakest, most limp-wristed response you can see from a leader,’ Mr Dutton said.
The term ‘limp-wristed’ is an outdated term used to describe gay men and is considered by many to be a homophobic slur.
According to the Cambridge dictionary, the phrase is ‘an extremely offensive word used to describe a man whose behaviour is thought to be typical of a gay person’.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is gay, told the ABC that Mr Dutton ‘is a bloke who opposed marriage equality, so it’s an unsurprising use of language from him’.
Independent MP Allegra Spender accused the Liberal Party leader of promoting ‘offensive stereotypes about gay men’.
A spokesperson for Dutton said: ‘It was a phrase that shouldn’t have been used, and no offence was intended from Mr Dutton.’