In a breathtaking attack on parliamentary convention, Labor and the Greens this week used their numbers in the Senate to block even the first reading of a bill that simply sought to restore biological reality to the Sex Discrimination Act.
Family First commends Senators Alex Antic, Matt Canavan, Ralph Babet, Malcolm Roberts and other courageous crossbenchers who stood in defence of truth, democracy and the rights of Australian women and children. Their bill, the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Restoring Biological Definitions) Bill, would have removed radical gender ideology from the Act and reasserted the common-sense definitions of “man” and “woman” as biological terms.
This was not some stunt. This was a well-drafted bill intended to start a long-overdue national conversation about the harm being done in the name of “gender identity.” Instead, Labor broke an essential parliamentary custom: allowing a first reading to proceed—a stage that is usually a mere formality—so the Senate can debate a bill in full view of the public.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher tried to justify this extraordinary censorship by claiming that allowing debate would cause “harm.” But what could be more harmful than the sterilisation, mutilation and lifelong medicalisation of children in the name of LGBTQA+ ideology? What about the harm to women’s safety and dignity when biological men are allowed in their changerooms, prisons and sports?
This ideology—which has taken hold of our institutions since “gender identity” was added to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013—has nothing to do with equality. It is a pseudo-religious belief system that demands people deny what they know to be true about sex and biology.
Senator Antic was right when he said, “Sex is not a social construct. It is a core biological reality that underpins human nature.” Australians are waking up to the consequences of allowing radical ideology to override science, common sense and parental rights.
The irony of Senator Gallagher’s claim is staggering. The Albanese Government is actively protecting a system that allows children to be told they were born in the wrong body and need puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery to “be themselves.” And yet, Labor claims that debating this reality is the real danger.
Family First agrees with the thousands of doctors, teachers and parents calling for clarity. We believe that Australians should not be compelled by law to pretend that men can be women and vice versa. The Sex Discrimination Act should protect people from unfair treatment—but it should not be used to punish those who affirm biological truth.
That’s why Family First will continue to fight to have the Sex Discrimination Act amended. And that’s why we are raising candidates in the SA, Victoria and NSW elections who will stand for biological reality, parental rights and the protection of children.
What Labor did this week was not only wrong—it was dangerous. Truth must not be outlawed. Debate must not be silenced.
What is also jarring about the fight for girls’ and women’s rights is that the Coalition leadership under Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton and now Sussan Ley will not address the issue.
It has been left to private Senators like Antic and Canavan to fight because their party won’t. It secretly supports, or at best acquiesces with, Labor and the Greens in their quest to indoctrinate children into gender fluid ideology.
Australians deserve better. It’s time to put Family First.