Women Speak Tasmania is calling on Attorney General Guy Barnett to acknowledge 29 confidential testimonies presented to him in December 2025 and establish a Parliamentary Inquiry into Affirmative Care and Conversion Practices before the Greens’ proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill 2026 is debated.
On 15 December 2025, a delegation of Tasmanians representing LGB Alliance Australia, the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Advocacy Alliances and Women Speak Tasmania, together with parents, teachers and health professionals, presented 29 personal testimonies to the Attorney General and urged the Government to conduct an inquiry.
The testimonies contain detailed and often deeply traumatic accounts from Tasmanians describing their experiences of current gender policies, institutional practices and the operation of existing anti-discrimination laws.
Women Speak Tasmania President Dr Elizabeth Caballero said:
“These testimonies were provided directly to the Attorney General. They cannot be publicly released because many contain highly personal and sensitive information, but that does not mean they should be disregarded.”
Women Speak Tasmania has this week secured the publication of submissions to the Greens’ Bill. Following WST’s call for transparency, the Greens have contacted those who made submissions, asking whether they are “comfortable” with their submissions being published.
WST understands that some submissions are deeply personal and that public disclosure may expose individuals to reprisal, vilification, harassment, employment consequences, economic repercussions, boycotts or adverse consequences within professional, social or community networks.
Women Speak Tasmania considers that in-camera hearings are essential to protect people who wish to share their lived experiences with a Parliamentary Inquiry. This is especially important given the climate of fear and intimidation that has prevailed since sex self-ID laws were passed.
Dr Caballero said:
“The Attorney General has been given an opportunity to hear directly from people who say they and their families have experienced serious consequences, trauma and harm from current policies and laws, especially those relating to the affirmative-care framework.”
Women Speak Tasmania is calling on the Attorney General to:
- Acknowledge the gravity of the 29 testimonies presented to him in December 2025, as well as the WST Dossier on the Impacts of Tasmania’s Sex Self-ID Laws on Women, Girls, Families and LGB People, which was presented to him and released publicly to the media in January 2025.
- Establish a Parliamentary Inquiry into Affirmative Care and Conversion Practices, including in-camera hearings, before the Greens’ Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill 2026 is debated.
Dr Caballero said:
“Parliamentary scrutiny is crucial for these issues, which continue to impact individuals and their right to speak out, their safety and social cohesion in our society.”
“Gender law reforms have adversely impacted the rights of the child, LGB people, parental and professional responsibility, freedom of political expression and religious belief.”
“For the Government to ignore the gravity of these testimonies would be comparable to ignoring the harrowing testimonies from victims of child sexual abuse that led to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.”
ENDS
Media Contact:
Dr Elizabeth Caballero, retired GP,
President, Women Speak Tasmania
Attachment: WST Dossier on the Impacts of Tasmania’s Sex Self-ID Laws on Women, Girls, Families and LGB People