At a time of high cost of living and housing pressures, the State Government last month prioritised a bill which is best called social engineering and out of touch with women’s safety concerns.
The Gender Self ID Bill was put through by the State Labor Government. Together with my LNP colleagues, I voted against this bill and I have continued to speak publicly about my concerns. What this bill means:
- Sexual reassignment surgery will no longer be required for someone to change the sex listed on their birth certificate.
- A biological man who self identifies as a woman can change their status on their birth certificate
- Children aged 12 to 16 can apply to the courts to change the sex on the certificate when they do not have the support of their parents (they must first undertake an assessment by a developmentally informed practitioner who has an established professional relationship with them prior to any change)
I have heard the government and the Attorney-General say that they do not believe there is evidence to back up people’s fears about having biological men accessing women’s safe spaces. They are simply not listening. They are not listening to the many women who have lived experiences and have faced genuine issues around perpetrators who have taken away their ability to feel safe. These women have a genuine need—as do many women in our community—to women-only safe spaces.
Having compassion and understanding for transgender people and gender dysphoric children is important but achieving that should not come at the expense of women’s rights—and that is where this bill fails. We need to have compassion and understanding for children, particularly gender dysphoric children, and how they are best supported, but this bill is not the way to achieve that.
I have received emails from people across a spectrum of backgrounds and from a variety of ideological backgrounds all over the country since I spoke in Parliament, and I thank everyone who has contacted me and shared their concerns.
Recently I was interviewed on the Amanda Stoker, ‘Sunday on Stoker’ – CLICK HERE if you would like to watch the interview.
