Dr Jillian Spencer on the fight to protect gender confused kids – and get her job back | Drag queen vilification case – setback for free speech | Why celebrating Khamenei’s death should put you on the ASIO watch list.
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Macquarie Street S3 E5
Is Australia silencing doctors who question child gender medicine?
This week’s Macquarie Street Political Podcast tackles one of the most contentious issues in Australian public life — the treatment of gender-distressed children — and features a confronting interview with whistleblowing psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer.
Dr Spencer has been suspended from her role at the Queensland Children’s Hospital since 2023 after raising concerns about the “gender affirmation” model used in Australia’s child gender clinics. In the podcast, she explains why she believes doctors are being pressured to adopt an approach that assumes a child is “naturally trans” and moves them toward social transition, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
According to Dr Spencer, clinicians were discouraged from exploring other causes of distress in children or discussing the potential risks of these treatments with families. She says the professional culture surrounding gender medicine has become so politicised that many doctors are now afraid to speak publicly.
Her concerns have become even more relevant following the cancellation of fellow psychiatrist Dr Andrew Amos, who recently had conditions imposed on his medical registration preventing him from commenting publicly on gender medicine.
The discussion also explores the international shift away from the gender-affirmation model following the Cass Review in the United Kingdom. That landmark report concluded there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones benefit children, prompting the NHS to halt their routine use for minors.
Yet in Australia, Dr Spencer says the same treatment model remains entrenched.
The podcast also covers several other major controversies this week — including Lyle Shelton’s ongoing legal battle over comments about drag queen story time, political leaders marching in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, and concerns about extremist figures being honoured at events in Australian mosques.
Taken together, the issues raise a bigger question: are Australians still free to speak openly about contested social policies — especially when children’s welfare is at stake?
If you want to understand why the debate over gender medicine, free speech and politics is intensifying, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.