Recently, the Free Speech Union Australia hosted a discussion panel at Hobart Town Hall featuring Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, speaking about his book Tough Crowd.
Linehan described his experience of professional and social exclusion following comments and comedy material relating to gender identity. He spoke about losing work opportunities, being removed from social media platforms, and effectively being pushed out of the UK comedy industry. Since then, he has become a vocal critic of aspects of gender identity ideology and the use of gender-related medical treatments, particularly for minors.
Members of Women Speak Tasmania were also in attendance.
For many of us, the event was not simply about a comedian or a book. It was about something larger — the question of whether citizens can still openly discuss contested public policy issues without fear of reputational damage, professional consequences, or cancellation.
Across Australia and internationally, women’s rights campaigners report that they have faced increasing difficulty organising meetings, booking venues, or holding public discussions when the topic involves gender identity, women’s spaces, or medical treatments for children. Whatever one’s personal position on these issues, the ability to debate them openly is fundamental to a democratic society.
Women Speak Tasmania itself has experienced these challenges. Most recently, a public forum intended to discuss the use of puberty blockers had to be relocated from the Burnie Library to a local café after permission to use the venue was withdrawn at short notice. Similar cancellations or disruptions have affected other events aimed at discussing gender medicine, safeguarding, and sex-based rights both in Tasmania and elsewhere.
Members also recall last year’s rally outside Parliament House, which drew significant controversy and opposition. Regardless of one’s agreement or disagreement with the speakers, the pattern is clear: certain topics are becoming increasingly difficult to discuss in ordinary civic spaces.
This matters because the issues involved are not abstract. They concern schools, healthcare policy, parental rights, safeguarding, and the legal definitions that underpin sex-based protections. These are questions that affect families, children, and women’s services in everyday life.
Public policy should not be decided in an atmosphere where only one viewpoint can be safely expressed. Democracies function best when citizens can listen, challenge, disagree, and debate — peacefully and lawfully — without intimidation.
Women Speak Tasmania believes that open dialogue is not a threat to society but a safeguard for it. Silencing discussion does not resolve disagreement; it merely drives it underground and erodes public trust.
You do not have to agree with every speaker, author, or organisation to defend their right to speak. The principle at stake is broader than any single group or ideology: it is whether ordinary citizens retain the freedom to question public policy, especially when that policy concerns children, education, and medical practice.
Open conversation is not the problem.
It is the foundation of a free society.