SBS under fire for ‘censorship’

Two men and a baby ... an advertisement aired on Australian television claims marriage equality 'forces kids to miss out on a mother or father'. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

AN ADVERTISEMENT critical of same-sex marriage was pulled by SBS management ahead of their telecast of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Sunday night, the ad's sponsors say.

The Australian Marriage Forum said in a statement that the ad was booked and scheduled for broadcast during a Sunday night Mardi Gras special.

Dr van Gend says the ad was booked and paid for before he received an email on Friday to inform him it had been pulled from the Sunday night schedule. "I've unfortunately been instructed to advise you that we choose not to run this TVC for the Marriage Forum during the Mardi Gras telecast," the email from SBS sales manager for Queensland, Nick Belof, said.

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"We hear about marriage equality a lot, but what about equality for kids?" the ad asks.

It shows Dr David van Gend, president of the Australian Marriage Forum and a family doctor, stating: "Children have an equal right wherever possible to both a mum and a dad. So-called marriage equality forces kids to miss out on a mother or a father. That's not equality for the kids who miss out. That's not marriage."

'That's not marriage' ... Dr David van Gend appears as a spokesman against marriage equality in the new advertisement. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

The national director of Australian Marriage Equality, Rodney Croome, told SameSame.com the ad's timing would only highlight how "out of place anti-gay prejudice is in our increasingly inclusive and respectful society."

"If this campaign has any impact at all, its obvious prejudice and fearmongering will actually increase support for marriage equality," he added.

Mr Croome said children in the care of same-sex couples deserve the same opportunities as other children.

The advertisement was seen on channels 7 and 9 over the weekend, while the parade was underway.

Dr van Gend said: "It is outrageous for a taxpayer funded broadcaster like SBS to apply censorship to one side of the debate on same-sex marriage."

"SBS is funded by taxpayers on both sides of the same-sex 'marriage' debate", Dr van Gend said.

Dr van Gend called the cancellation of the ad a "suppression of free speech on a matter of public importance.

An SBS spokesperson told Fairfax Media that it reserved the right "to determine what advertisements it broadcasts".

'Model family' ... the conventional family represented in the advertisement is a mother, father and two children. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

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