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Qld in push for national consent education

Marty SilkAAP
Grace Grace wants consent on the agenda at the national education ministers' meeting on April 30.
Camera IconGrace Grace wants consent on the agenda at the national education ministers' meeting on April 30.

Queensland will push for consistent consent and sexual assault reporting to be included in the national school curriculum.

Education Minister Grace Grace has written to federal counterpart Alan Tudge asking for the issue to be on the agenda at the education ministers' meeting on April 30.

She's also asked that the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority to work with the states to ensure strong, consistent content on consent is part of the curriculum.

"This issue is now clearly on the national agenda, particularly following disturbing reports last night on the news and Four Corners about grossly inappropriate conduct in our federal parliament," Ms Grace told state parliament on Tuesday.

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The minister launched a review of consent education in Queensland's state, independent and Catholic schools earlier this month.

She said at the time the harrowing stories of young students suffering sexual violence, emerging after 22-year-old Sydneysider Chanel Contos' campaign for sexual consent education, had moved her to act.

Ms Grace said she had now met with Catholic and Independent school leaders about the issue.

Her department has written to principal associations, unions, peak parent bodies

The minister has also spoken with Ms Contos and asked her to participate in the state government's review.

"I look forward to reporting on key milestones which form part of the department's education consent and reporting review plan," she said.

"It is vital that we get this right because enough is enough."

The state parliament is also debating new sexual consent laws this week amid a national push to end sexual assault.

However, those laws may be superseded with the Labor government now mulling even stronger affirmative consent laws.

Affirmative consent requires people involved in sex acts to know what they're agreeing to, express intent to participate and decide to do so freely and voluntarily.

The Women's Safety and Justice Task Force, led by retired justice Margaret McMurdo, is looking into potential changes.

The task force is also considering criminalising coercive control, which includes isolating partners from friends, dictating where they're allowed to go and controlling their finances.

The review will see if attitudinal or cultural change is needed within the criminal justice system and if fresh training is required for first responders like police.

Ms McMurdo will probe any barriers contributing to the low levels of sexual assault reporting given the staggering amount of rapes in the state.

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