Australian children's TV show criticized for airing story about lesbian moms

Long-running Australian children's TV program Play School has incurred the wrath of its parent--the government--by airing a story involving a girl's trip to the fair with her lesbian mothers. Children's minister Larry Anthony said Thursday he feared that state-funded Australian Broadcasting Corp. was becoming too politically correct. "I think it's important for those program producers to ensure that they are not just responding to minorities," he said. "I think Play School has been an excellent program, but I wouldn't like to see it become politically correct." The story was aired on Monday, just days after Prime Minister John Howard announced that his government would ban same-sex marriages and seek to prevent gay couples from adopting children from overseas. Communications minister Daryl Williams expressed his concerns about the story to ABC's managing director, Russell Balding. "The government understands that parents would expect a program like Play School to deal with issues which are appropriate for the age of its audience," Williams said. "In particular, Australian parents should be able to choose when to explain concepts such as same-sex couples to their young children." But ABC Children's Television head Claire Henderson was unrepentant. "Play School aims to reflect the diversity of Australian children, embracing all manner of race, religions, and family situations," she said.