Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Robin Banks, will find herself on the other side of a sex discrimination claim, before the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Ms Banks has outraged some feminists by recommending changes to state law to allow men who identify as women, but who have not had a sex change, to legally register as female.
An activist with the radical feminist Women’s Liberation Front (WOLF), Tessa Anne, made a complaint to the Tasmanian government, alleging Ms Banks had “bullied, belittled” and discriminated against her on the basis of her sex, at a meeting held to discuss the plan.
The complaint was investigated by the state Department of Justice, which The Australian can reveal has concluded that the June 29 meeting in question was “conducted in a manner which does not reflect best-practice process”.
Department deputy secretary Ginna Webster, who reviewed Ms Anne’s complaint at the request of Attorney–General Vanessa Goodwin, has written to Ms Banks expressing “concerns” about the conduct of the meeting and advised Ms Anne she would meet the commissioner to “reiterate these concerns“.
In a letter to Ms Anne, Ms Webster says she has directed that “further guidance” be provided to Ms Banks’s Equal Opportunity Tasmania to ensure that public consultations adhere to the state service code of conduct
However, Ms Webster concluded that there were “no grounds” to dismiss Ms Banks, which was the only disciplinary action open to the government given that the commissioner had “certain immunities”. Ms Webster advised Ms Anne that the federal Sex Discrimination Act was a “possible avenue” to further her grievance against Ms Banks.
Ms Anne told The Australian she would now take up that option and lodge a sex discrimination complaint with the AHRC.
“We feel it’s important that this treatment is on the public record and the broader issue of women being bullied and ridiculed for standing up for women’s human rights is officially on the radar of the AHRC,” Ms Anne said.
Ms Banks did not respond to requests for comment yesterday but has denied bullying, belittling or discriminating against Ms Anne during the 2 1⁄2 hour meeting.
She has rejected objections to her proposed transgender law reforms, which would change the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act to make changing one’s official sex as easy as changing one’s name, and to allow a change of sex as frequently as once a year.
WOLF argues that the reform “legally erases the existence of female people” and undermines protections for women under anti-discrimination law, including those that allow for women-only services, such as domestic violence shelters and support groups, gyms, sports, events and clubs.
It fears the changes would allow men who identify as women to legally demand access to such services, as well as to jobs currently reserved for women, such as providing intimate care for aged or disabled women.
Ms Anne said she was “satisfied” with Ms Webster’s response but disappointed the sex-discrimination complaint had been “handballed” to the federal jurisdiction.
Source: The Australian