Women Speak Tasmania

Category: Blog

  • A Wake-Up Call for Women’s Sex-Based Rights in Australia

    —

    in

    Kirralie Smith’s legal case marks a turning point in how Australian law treats women who speak publicly about sex-based rights. Her prosecution and heavy penalties for online commentary about women’s sport raise profound questions about free speech, political communication, and whether women can still lawfully defend sex-based categories in public debate. While courts characterised Smith’s…

  • Australia’s Quiet Pushback Against a UN Expert Defending Women’s Sex-Based Rights

    —

    in

    In late 2025, Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosures revealed a deeply troubling episode: senior Australian officials quietly attempted to undermine Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls. Rather than publicly contesting her views, elements within the Australian government—including the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and the Department of Foreign Affairs and…

  • Equality Australia: Equality for Whom?

    —

    in

    Equality Australia presents itself as the nation’s leading LGBTIQ+ advocacy organisation, dedicated to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer Australians. Founded in 2018 in the wake of the successful same sex marriage campaign, the organisation has grown into a powerful presence in Australia’s legal, political and media landscape. With high-profile patronage,…

  • The Growing Conflict Over Children, Gender Policy, and Government Authority

    —

    in

    Across Australia, a quiet but profound shift is occurring in education policy. It is not primarily about pronouns, flags, or even gender identity. At its core, the emerging conflict concerns something far more fundamental: who has responsibility for children — parents or the state? Over the past two years, policies introduced in several Australian states…

  • Working It Out “Language Matters” Session: Emma Clarke’s Account

    —

    in

    Introduction The following is an account by Emma Clarke of a Tasmanian Government-funded session run by Working It Out (WIO), titled “Language Matters”. The session was aimed at parents and focused on inclusive language, LGBTQIA+ terminology, and gender identity. Clarke attended to observe the session and provides a detailed account of her experience, raising concerns…

  • 199 Days Later March — Women Demand Action on Supreme Court Ruling

    —

    in

    On 1 November 2025, Women’s-rights activists marched through central London calling for the UK Government to immediately apply the Supreme Court’s landmark decision affirming that “woman,” “man,” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex at birth. A poster by the organisers, @acts_grassroots, stated: “The Supreme Court ruling should be implemented in…

  • Institutional Capitulation: How a Melbourne Council Cancelled Helen Joyce

    —

    in

    The City of Melbourne’s cancellation of a women’s rights forum featuring Helen Joyce stands as a stark warning about the fragility of free speech in Australia. What was intended to be a private, ticketed discussion on the impacts of gender identity ideology on women and children instead became a textbook case of institutional capitulation to…

  • Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Refuses to Acknowledge Biological Sex

    —

    in

    On 7 October 2025, during Senate Estimates (Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee), Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Anna Cody, was again pressed on women’s sex-based rights. What unfolded revealed a Commissioner unwilling – or unable – to acknowledge biological sex, even when asked the simplest of questions. First, in questioning by Senator Malcolm Roberts,…

  • Women Betrayed: How Sex Self-ID Laws Put a Child Rapist in a Women’s Prison”

    —

    in

    The Victorian government has done the unthinkable: a male who raped his own five-year-old daughter is serving his sentence in a women’s prison. His “gender identity” was treated not only as justification for placing him among vulnerable women, but also as a mitigating factor that reduced his jail term. This is not just a shocking…

  • Does Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Listen to Women?

    —

    in

    At the National Press Club address on 24 September 2025, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Anna Cody, was asked a direct question by Dr Megan Poore of the Women’s Advocate about whether she would use her powers to ensure that women’s groups working for sex-based rights are meaningfully consulted in law and policy. CEDAW Article 7…