Tag: Tasmania
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Analysis of the Tasmanian Local Government Act (1993): How Equal Treatment of All Residents is the Legal Foundation of Good Local Governance
Women Speak Tasmania believes that genuine community wellbeing depends on local councils serving all residents fairly and impartially. This detailed analysis of the Local Government Act 1993 — the principal legislation governing Tasmania’s 29 councils — shows that the Act establishes equal treatment and service to the whole community as the foundation of good local…
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Request for Information: Design Decisions – Northern Suburbs Community Recreation Hub – Email to the Department of State Growth
Email sent to The Tasmania Department of State Growth on 13.04.26 To whom it may concern, I am writing regarding the Northern Suburbs Community Recreation Hub in Mowbray, a project delivered by the Department of State Growth. I seek clarification regarding the design decision to implement exclusively all-gender toilets and changerooms within the facility, without…
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Government-funded Launceston Sports Hub in Mowbray built without female-only facilities
Concerns are being raised about the design of the Northern Suburbs Community Recreation Hub in Mowbray, after it was confirmed the major publicly funded facility includes exclusively all-gender toilets and changerooms, with no provision for female-only spaces. Dr Elizabeth Caballero, President of Women Speak Tasmania and a resident of the Bass electorate, said the issue…
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Campaign Launch: Restoring Sex-Based Protections for Tasmanian Women and Girls
Women Speak Tasmania has officially launched our campaign to restore clear, sex-based protections for women and girls in Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1998. Currently, the Act protects “gender” and “gender identity” — but does not include a clear, standalone protection for biological sex (male and female). This creates legal uncertainty and risks undermining the spaces, services,…
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Women Speak Tasmania met with Carlo Di Falco MP on Restoring Sex-Based Protections in Law
Women Speak Tasmania met with Member for Lyons, Carlo Di Falco, on Wednesday 8 April to discuss urgent reforms to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998, aimed at restoring clear, sex-based protections for women and girls. The meeting follows the organisation’s formal submission to the Attorney-General and growing public support through a statewide petition — “Fix Tasmania’s…
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Injustice to Victims
In response to Craig Thomson’s opinion piece “The dangerous appeal of naming and shaming sex offenders and vigilantism” (The Examiner, 29 March 2026), I must disagree. Leniency to the criminal is injustice to the victim. Tasmania’s approach to paedophiles remains far too soft. Offenders convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material or indecently assaulting children…
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Equality in Law
Owen Sinclair’s article (19 March 2026) on Daryl Russell’s repeated homophobic abuse in rural Winnaleah — including slurs, property damage, and threats disrupting daily life — is deeply concerning. It highlights the real harm prejudice inflicts on individuals due to their sexual orientation. The Tasmanian Government’s anti-hate laws (passed December 2025) mark positive progress, expanding…
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Aligning Tasmanian Community and Grassroots Sports with the IOC’s new Science-based Policy – Letter to Nick Duigan
Letter sent to Minister for Sport Nick Duigan on 27.03.26 Dear Minister Duigan, Re: Aligning Tasmanian community and grassroots sports with the IOC’s new science-based policy protecting the female category We write as Women Speak Tasmania, a group of Tasmanian women committed to the protection of sex-based rights, fairness, and safety in sport. On 26…
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Northern Community Hub All-Gender Facilities – Letter to Nick Duigan
Letter sent to Minister for Sport Duigan from a concerned mother on 30.03.26 Dear Minister Duigan, I am writing to you as a concerned mother regarding the new Northern sports hub. For years now my two eight-year-old daughters attended gymnastics classes at the PCYC facility, and while we are grateful for the investment in community…
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The Northern Hub, Parliament Hypocrisy, and the Real Cost of “Inclusion”
At Women Speak Tasmania, we have spent years fighting to protect women’s hard-won single-sex spaces. The evidence is clear, the data is consistent, and the lived reality for girls and women is being ignored in the rush toward “inclusion.” The Performative Hypocrisy of Politicians On 30 November 2025, Labor MP Ella Haddad proudly posted about…