Student protesters trash Cory Bernardi's reception area. Picture: Mark Brake

Earlier today a group of about 20 students marched to his office in the Adelaide suburb of Kent Town leaving its contents in disarray, knocking over a fence and scrawling chalk slogans on its facade including “stop homophobia” and “Australia's Trump”.

They also hung a large banner inside the reception area as they chanted “racist, sexist, anti-queer, Bernardi is not welcome here”.

According to The Advertiser, Mr Bernardi’s wife and some staffers retreated into other back rooms. Police arrived at the office just before 12.30pm and the students left.

The Safe Schools program is designed to reduce bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) students.

While the students may have been intending to shame Senator Bernardi over his views, others pointed out they may have actually generated sympathy for him.

Federal Labor MP Tim Watts tweeted: “It takes a special kind of nitwit to do something that creates sympathy for Cory Bernardi. Grow up SA”.

Prominent Australian Muslim lawyer Mariam Vesiszadeh also replied to Bernardi’s tweets saying: “Our views are worlds apart but damage to people & property is not on!”.

Another Twitter user Aya Reina said: “No really, Congrats on giving Cory Bernardi the high moral ground.”

In a series of Twitter posts, Senator Bernardi blamed “lefty totalitarians”, saying they “trashed my office and threatened my staff because their agenda has been exposed”.

“What a bunch of cowards,” he wrote.

“Gutless actions like this will never stop me speaking the truth.”

Student protesters trash Cory Bernardi's reception area at his Kent Town office in Adelaide. Picture: Mark BrakeSource:News Corp Australia

The Safe Schools program underwent an independent review after Senator Bernardi raised concerns in the Coalition party room that it “indoctrinates kids”.

“It beggars belief that we’re asking 11-year-olds to identify themselves or imagine themselves as having no genitals,” Senator Bernardi told the Senate last month.

“Schools should be places of learning, not propaganda.”

But Senator Bernardi and other conservative backbenchers were pushing for a full parliamentary inquiry into the program, saying the terms of reference for the independent review were too narrow.

Just hours after Senator Bernardi’s office was trashed, Education Minister Simon Birmingham appeared before media to announce changes to the Safe School program.

These include that students will need parental consent to participate, changes to the website and materials to be restricted to secondary schools.

Lesson plans will also be amended to remove activities regarded as “unsuitable” such as gender diversity role-playing activities.

Shadow Education Minister Kate Ellis said that the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had bowed to pressure from Liberal backbenchers.

This week Nationals MP George Christensen handed a letter to Mr Turnbull calling for federal government funding for the anti-bullying program to be suspended pending a parliamentary inquiry. He said the letter was signed by 43 of 81 backbenchers.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott was believed to be one of the signatories.

Ms Ellis said there had now been “disgraceful behaviour on both sides of the (Safe Schools) argument,” referring to the trashing of Senator Bernardi’s office.

Chalk signs scrawled around Bernardi’s office. Pic Mark BrakeSource:News Corp Australia

Meanwhile, a Perth high school says its students have been harassed by opponents of the program.

Mt Lawley Senior High School principal Milton Butcher said students were handed anti-Safe Schools leaflets on Wednesday morning as they arrived at school by two adults who refused to identify themselves.

Some of the children, as young as 12, were left “very distressed”, he said.