On 17 March 2019, Women Speak Tasmania (WST) announced that the Tasmanian Regional Meeting of the Quakers cancelled their booking for a public forum due to be held at the Friends Meeting House in New Town.
The cancellation came just one day before the event, which was set to discuss the impact of transgender law reforms currently before the Tasmanian Parliament.
According to WST spokesperson Bronwyn Williams, the cancellation appears to have followed a targeted campaign from members of the transgender lobby to silence women’s voices in the debate. Williams noted that complaints to the Quakers came not only from activist circles but also from within politics:
- A staffer in the office of Greens MP Cassy O’Connor reportedly contacted the Quakers.
- A call of complaint was also made from the office of Labor MP David O’Byrne.
“All the speakers at our forum are mothers and grandmothers with legitimate concerns about the effects of transgender ideology on children, women, and the broader Tasmanian community,” said Williams. “That ideology underpins the radical reforms to be debated in the Upper House this week.”
Despite the last-minute cancellation of our original venue, Women Speak Tasmania (WST) confirmed that the meeting “Review of Transgender Law Reforms” would still go ahead. The forum was held yesterday evening at Stoke Street Reserve, on the corner of Argyle Street and New Town Road, and ran for two hours as an open-air Forum in the Park.
The discussion highlighted five key issues emerging from this campaign:
- Confusion between sex and gender – Many in the community still do not understand the difference between the two.
- Lack of medical guidance – The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), including the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine (AChSHM), does not currently have a formal position statement on gender dysphoria.
- Dissent within the lesbian community – Some lesbians do not support the trans lobby and have even called for the “L” to be removed from LGBTI.
- Women’s safety concerns ignored – The implications for women’s safety in single-sex spaces are not being properly addressed.
- Impact on women’s sport – The consequences of transgender inclusion in female sport are only beginning to be realised.
A big thank you to Jennie for chairing the meeting and to Geoff for speaking alongside us.
And thank you to everyone who came, contributed, and helped create such an excellent and thoughtful discussion!