Attorney-General Guy Barnett has met with a feminist group that is calling for the repeal of the state’s sex self-ID legislation.
Parliament passed the amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2019, making the listing of babies’ gender optional on birth certificates and allowing any individual over 16 to change their listed gender on the birth certificate, or to opt not to list a gender.
At the time, the legislation was hailed as a success by trans-rights groups, but Women Speak Tasmania (WST) claims it harms biological women by giving precedence to the rights of transgender individuals who identify as women.
“Any person over the age of 16 can give a declaration and legally change their sex on the birth certificate,” said WST spokesperson Dr Elizabeth Caballero Pastor.
“This causes an issue with women, because if a man says that he’s a woman, then he will be able to enter every single female space, regardless of having any surgery, regardless of if he has any hormonal therapies.
“That man gets to play women’s sports, gets to enter women’s change rooms with us, with our daughters.
“Every single boundary that we have, every opportunity we have to say ‘no’ is out the window.”
The biological sex of newborn Tasmanians is still recorded in the registry, recording the biological sex of the baby on birth certificates is optional.
In a review of the law in 2020, the Tasmanian Law Reform Commission reported no adverse consequences had resulted from its passing.
WST has compiled a dossier of reported incidents and complaints by women claiming biological men have entered women’s spaces as a result of the law.
Dr Caballero Pastor said during her hour-long meeting with the Attorney-General, she handed Mr Barnett a dossier listing the group’s concerns regarding gender issues.
He gave no commitments, but promised to consider the group’s demands, she said.
Mr Barnett did not respond to requests for comment about the meeting.
News of Mr Barnett accepting the meeting and not ruling out a change to the sex self-ID law is likely to trigger waves within cabinet.
The Liberal government is divided between conservatives such as Mr Barnett that are more likely to support WST’s agenda, and ‘wets’ that supported the sex self-ID laws in the first place, such as Premier Jeremy Rockliff and cabinet member Roger Jaensch.
During the election campaign last year, Mr Rockliff also told LGBTQI+ rights groups that he had no plans to repeal the self-ID law.
Equality Tasmania acting president Dr Ash Russell said WST’s dossier was “peppered with disinformation”.
“[It] provides little real evidence of the negative impacts of trans-inclusive laws and policies,” Dr Russell said.
“But we will nonetheless write to Attorney-General Guy Barnett, and other MPs, responding to its claims with hard evidence.
“Tasmania’s gender recognition and anti-discrimination laws, as well as affirming care and school inclusion for young trans people, have made an immensely positive difference to transgender Tasmanians and their families.
“Evidence of these positive benefits is what has convinced MPs like Craig Garland to support Tasmania’s current, inclusive laws and policies.”
WST spokesperson Isla McGregor also criticised Mr Garland, accusing him of abandoning an election promises to support a repeal of the Sex ID law and and inquiry into the gender service.
A spokesperson for Mr Garland said the Braddon member had not changed his position on the issues.
“He still has concerns and will be taking steps to become better informed about these issues,” the spokesperson said.
“Craig agreed to support parliamentary inquiries, not to initiate one.
“It is not a core issue for Craig. He has very limited time in the parliament to raise issues, which is why he has, and will continue, to focus on core issues.
“It’s worth noting that no MP has brought a motion before the parliament calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the issues.”
WST also claimed in its dossier that the state-funded Tasmanian Gender Service lacks transparency, and that an inquiry is needed to establish whether the clinic is facilitating young Tasmanians with what it claims are harmful hormone and puberty-blocking drugs.
Source: The Examiner