News

Peter Dutton Has Banned Rainbow Clothes And Cupcakes In A Shameful Attempt To End ‘Woke Culture’

The Defence Minister told his department to stop events where “personnel are encouraged to wear particular clothes in celebration”.

Peter Dutton Rainbow

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Defence minister Peter Dutton has been slammed for banning rainbow paraphernalia in his department last week.

He reportedly stuck his nose in after a morning tea for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) celebrated on 17 May.

Dutton commanded Defence Force chief Angus Campbell to stop future events where “personnel are encouraged to wear particular clothes in celebration”. This is in direct contradiction to an earlier internal note which permitted defence staff to wear rainbow clothing and pins on IDAHOBIT.

“I’ve been very clear to the chiefs that I will not tolerate discrimination. But we are not pursuing a woke agenda,” Mr Dutton told the Sydney Morning Herald.

His culture war agenda came the same week The Australian published an opinion piece which claimed the four backbones of ‘wokeness’ were gay, trans, gender and race.

The Australian Defence Force’s historical relationship with LGBT+ community members saw the ban on gay armed force personnel only lifted three decades ago. So shutting down genuine and quite frankly, harmless efforts to support gay, trans and bi staff members is a new low for Mr Dutton.

The Defence Minister has come under fire for his comments in the past, including telling gay Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to “stick to your knitting”, and asking politicians to keep their ‘emotional’ thoughts on marriage equality inside the party room in 2017.