In a powerful Senate speech this week, Liberal Senator Claire Chandler condemned the Labor-Greens alliance for blocking a debate on fixing the Sex Discrimination Act to restore women’s and girls’ rights to single-sex sports and spaces.

Senator Pauline Hanson from One Nation moved the motion to debate legislation last week, only for it to be blocked by Labor, the Greens, and left-wing crossbenchers. Chandler made it clear: “Mr Albanese as the leader of the Labor Party and Mr Adam Bandt as the leader of the Greens are dictating to 13 million Australian women and girls that we are not allowed to have single sex services or spaces.”

Family First supports Senator Chandler’s fight but contends the fight is bigger than just against Labor and the Greens.

Sections of the Liberal Party, like Senate Leader Simon Birmingham, have continually run obstruction to attempts to recognise the truth about gender.

Former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison, when asked before the 2022 election if he would support a bill to protect women’s sports, replied that his government had “no plans” to introduce such legislation.

This opposition to girls and women’s rights aligns Morrison with Chandler’s critique of Albanese and Bandt, who have all rejected proposals to safeguard women’s sports and protect the fairness of female-only spaces.

Chandler rightly pointed out that the current Sex Discrimination Act is broken: “Now we know that the exemption can't be relied upon (to protect girls and women) because a biological male can be considered legally female for the purposes of the Act.”

Her frustration at being ignored for so long was palpable: “I warned that the sex-based exemptions that were written into the Act specifically to protect single sex sports and services for women and girls were impossible to rely on.”

It was left to Senator Hanson and smaller parties like One Nation and Family First to do the heavy lifting on this crucial issue along with lone voices in the Liberals like Senator Chandler.

The major parties, particularly the Liberals and Nationals, should be leading the charge, not shirking their responsibility to women and girls.

Chandler captured the gravity of the situation: “When a 16-year-old girl takes to the rugby or football field and realises she'll be up against adult males, Anthony Albanese and Adam Bandt support that.”

Family First commends Senator Chandler for her courageous stand in the Senate and urges the Liberal and National parties to step up.

As Chandler warned, “The Prime Minister claimed that it wasn’t necessary because there was already an exemption for single sex sport. Now we know that exemption can't be relied upon.”

Women and girls deserve better from their leaders, and it’s time for a unified push to restore fairness and safety in sport and society.

It’s time for politicians on both sides to stop pandering to the demanders of LGBTIQA+ political activists like the so-called Equality Australia group.

ACTION: Join the fight for girls’ and women’s rights. Join the Family First Party today.