Recently, the important public debate about reforming Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 to add biological sex as a protected attribute reached Tasmania Parliament and then mainstream media.
Women Speak Tasmania has been campaigning for this change to better protect single-sex spaces, services, and fair sport for women and girls. However, when ABC Hobart Breakfast covered the issue on 21 May 2026, listeners heard only one side of the story.
“Biological gender”?
The ABC promoted and introduced the segment using the term “biological gender” — a term that does not exist in science, medicine, or law.
Sex is biological (male or female). Gender is widely understood as a social or personal construct. By repeatedly using “biological gender”, the ABC confused the very issue under discussion.
Was this sloppy language, or was it an attempt to misrepresent the debate? Either way, it is misleading for a public broadcaster.
Only one voice: Rodney Croome
The entire segment featured Rodney Croome from Equality Tasmania with no balancing interview from Women Speak Tasmania or any women’s rights advocate. This lack of right of reply allowed several misleading claims to go unchallenged.
Key issues identified in the interview:
“Almost 30 years” of transgender protections Rodney Croome claimed that “in Tasmania, we’ve had laws that protect transgender people from discrimination for almost 30 years now.”
This is inaccurate. While sexual orientation has been protected since 1999, explicit protections for gender identity were only added in 2013 — just 13 years ago. Conflating the two misleads listeners about the history of these laws.
Women’s services have “no problems” Croome stated that Tasmanian women’s services, refuges, and sports “don’t discriminate” and have no issues with the current inclusive approach.
Many women continue to raise serious concerns about privacy, safety, and fairness in female-only spaces. These concerns were not acknowledged or explored in the interview.
Biological sex testing is “quite invasive” When discussing sport, Croome described biological sex testing as “quite invasive” and oppressive to women. In reality, the cheek-swab (SRY gene test) now used by World Athletics is simple, quick, and non-invasive — similar to a standard COVID swab. Many female athletes support fair sex-based categories, and disorders of sexual development (DSD) cases are already managed case-by-case under international guidelines.
“I haven’t seen any problems myself” Croome repeatedly said he had not observed any disadvantages to women, stating:
“It doesn’t seem to be any disadvantage to other women that I’ve been able to see.”
As a man, Croome is not best placed to speak on behalf of women regarding female-only changerooms, refuges, or sport. This “absence of evidence” argument dismisses the legitimate concerns raised by many women and girls.
A legislative issue deserves balance
This is not a minor cultural debate — it is a legislative issue directly affecting women’s and girls’ rights in Tasmania.
Public broadcasters have a duty under the ABC Charter to present contested matters with impartiality and balance. Giving only Rodney Croome’s ideological perspective falls short of that standard.
Women Speak Tasmania has submitted a formal complaint to ABC Hobart requesting acknowledgment of the issues and future balanced coverage. We hope the ABC takes this opportunity to correct course and include women’s voices on matters that affect us most.
Community debate on sex-based rights deserves more than a one-sided platform.
Source: ABC Hobart Breakfast with Ryk Goddard 21.05.26
