According to your figures for total compensation, the amount paid is $300,000 short of the retreat renovation in Rome totalling $32 million reported a couple of years ago.

It is a farce when my perpetrator was defended in court with his so-called rehabilitation in place in the ‘90s while his victims’ rights were still been denied.

The amount of $400,000 is said to be spent defending this beast who represented and taught Christianity.

His total number of victims will never be known. In a 22-year teaching role it is stated he taught in some 18 schools, some at the same time as other paedophiles.

No other top 10 company in the world with such accumulated wealth would be let off with paying collection money to its victims. The church denied all to keep their own integrity.

I believe fair compensation to survivors is what the church spent defending the perpetrators.

What fantastic news that our new Bendigo hospital is finished one month early and on budget. Congratulations to all those involved with its building.

It was interesting to see Jacinta Allan also praising this new facility that she previously stated publicly would never be built, let alone on budget and before time.  

So, Jacinta, the Liberal Party should be congratulated for actually making this all come true.

Astute Addy readers may be wondering what Helen Leach is referring to in her letter to the editor of “Parents must know what their children are taught” (November 22).

Gender identity is not based on the biological sex a person is born with, and this is why Australian anti-discrimination law protects it.

The contents of the Safe Schools and Building Respectful Relationships programmes are grounded in Australian anti-discrimination legislation.

An independent review earlier this year of Safe Schools found that its content is consistent with the goals of the national curriculum, recommending only minor changes, including restricting some classroom resources to secondary schools.

Despite the recent campaign against it, the growth of Safe Schools has not slowed, and none of its member schools have pulled out.

This is because educators know that kids in the social majority, the kids who do not struggle with gender identity or sexuality issues, should to be taught; that it is acceptable to be gay, transgender or intersex.

They need to learn that it is not acceptable for the majority to bully, malign and vilify a minority of kids because they are different. This is building respectful relationships, for an inclusive and respectful society. For a less cruel, less fearful society, generation by generation.

As a mother and future grandmother, I welcome it. As a kid who witnessed the brutal persecution of my classmates who were different and felt I had no way to speak up against it, I welcome it.

It is right to teach our kids that a decent, fair and respectful society does not marginalise gender-identity diverse and gay people.

Premier Daniel Andrews is to be congratulated for fiercely defending Safe Schools, and has rightly insisted that it will continue unchanged within every Victorian state secondary school by 2018.

Opponents of Safe Schools should say exactly what they mean, which is that they simply do not want their children and grandchildren to be told that it is OK to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex.