This article was originally published by the Star Observer. You can find the original article here.
A scattering of Coalition MPs have come out in favour of Trump’s anti-trans policies, and believe Australia should be following in the United States’ footsteps.
In the executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”, the president advocated for the end of “radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms”.
In his inauguration speech yesterday, Trump declared that the US government will only recognise two genders, that are assigned at birth, and are unchanging.
Nationals senator Matt Canavan told the Australian Financial Review he agreed with President Trump, and suggested Australia should adopt a similar policy.
“I think the thrust is to protect young women in sports, and I think we should take a leaf out of that part of Trump’s book as well,” he said.
“It is completely unfair and unsafe to make young biological women compete against biological males. It is absolutely ridiculous and defies all common sense.
“The only place it seems to make any sense is Canberra where common sense goes to die. Everywhere else in the country can see this is ridiculous and really unsafe.”
In 2023, the The Australian Sports Commission released guidelines for athletes in high performance sport, and did not feel a need to ban trans people from competing in sports, instead advocating for inclusion, with exemptions determined on a case-by-case basis..
Barnaby Joyce also felt qualified to give his opinion, but said that the cost of living was more likely to win votes in the upcoming election.
“Based on the science, that people are born with an XY chromosome or XX, and the whole point of democracy is the majority rule. If that’s what the majority want, then that’s it.”
“But people have strong views, probably not dissimilar to President Trump,” he said. “If you want to walk up and down the streets talking about that, you’re probably not where people want to meet you, which is ‘How am I going to get my power bill down? Why am I sleeping in my car? Why can’t I afford food?’”
Queer Australian orgs
Member for Brisbane and out Greens MP Stephen Bates said in a statement to Star Observer that “the Coalition is quick to whip up a culture war but they never stop to think about the impacts that has on everyday people.”
“There’s hundreds of thousands of trans people and people with variations of sex characteristics in Australia. And they all have millions more friends and family.
“These are throwaway comments to conservative media to them, but it’s another painful reminder to those millions of people that the Coalition thinks there’s political hay to be made in cruelty.
“We’re in a cost of living crisis and the fact that Canavan and Joyce are wanting to import Trump’s nonsense instead of thinking about how to make everyday Australian’s lives better is very telling to me.”
In a statement of solidarity with trans and gender diverse communities in the United States, Equality Australia said that trans and gender diverse people have existed across the world, in many cultures.
“In Australia, it’s important to remember that trans and gender diverse people are recognised and protected in many areas under state and federal laws.”
“Our highest courts have recognised and upheld gender diversity, and Equality Australia research has consistently found a clear majority of Australians support the rights and dignity of trans people.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimate that less than 1 per cent of Australians identify as transgender or gender diverse, equating to about 179,000 people.
