This article was originally published by QNews. You can find the original article here.
One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has been thwarted from amending the Sex Discrimination Act to wind back discrimination protections for trans people.
Senator Hanson introduced the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill on Thursday.
The draft bill would’ve removed gender identity from the Sex Discrimination Act, rolling back federal discrimination protections for trans and gender-diverse people.
In a shocker of a press release, the ultra-conservative Queensland Senator disputed the existence of trans people and said the bill acknowledged “biological reality over contrived gender identities”.
But Senators threw out the draft bill at the very first vote, with Labor and the Greens voting against it.
Greens Senator Steph Hodgkins-May said her party wouldn’t give Pauline Hanson “a platform for hate” and opposed the bill outright.
“The Greens will not allow One Nation to use parliamentary privilege to deny the existence of the trans and gender diverse community,” she said.
“We will not give Pauline Hanson a platform for hate. Trans rights are human rights, and they are non-negotiable. We must work towards a safer world for the trans and gender-diverse community.
“The gender-diverse community deserve to feel safe, respected, and valued. [They deserve to] live their lives, treated as equals and free from discrimination.”
Extreme bill voted down by Senators
Coalition Senator Jonathan Duniam said his colleagues should’ve allowed Pauline Hanson’s bill to pass on its first reading, as is typical so bills can be “fairly considered”.
“While the senate has the opportunity to reject a bill at the first reading stage, in practice it’s almost always passed without opposition,” he said.
Senator Duniam said blocking a bill in that way should only occur in the “most extreme of circumstances”.
However, Greens MPs interjected that Pauline Hanson’s bill was hateful and extreme.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher also added the bill was divisive and could cause significant harm to the community.
“It is very rare to not support the first reading… This bill falls into that category. The division, the hurt, the pain, that that causes for gender diverse members of the community is real,” she said.
“The sooner the Senate realises that and takes responsibility for causing that harm the better.
“We should not be allowing something like this to come into this chamber. We have to stand up and support all members of our community.”
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