Scott Morrison has signalled he will have more to say during the election campaign about banning transgender women from playing women’s sport, as one of his senators seeks donations for an “action fund” to get that message out.
Campaigning in the marginal seat of Gilmore on Monday, the prime minister said he shared the views of the Tasmanian Liberal senator Claire Chandler, who has advanced private member’s legislation allowing sporting groups to exclude transgender people from single-sex sports.
The bill would amend the Sex Discrimination Act to “clarify” that the operation of single-sex sport on the basis of biological sex was not discriminatory.
As Morrison endorsed her proposal on Monday, Chandler sent out an email to supporters asking for donations to a $45,000 fund that would enable “push back” against “radical activists pushing their gender fluid ideology and silencing women”.
She noted in the email the “good news is that prime minister Scott Morrison is supporting this action to champion women and girls, saying it’s terrific”.
On Monday Morrison also spoke in glowing terms about the Liberal candidate for Warringah, Katherine Deves, who co-founded the Save Women’s Sport organisation, which campaigns to restrict trans women playing in female sporting competitions.
The PM told 2GB radio that Deves was “standing up for something really important”, noting it was “a sensitive issue”.
“Katherine is, you know, an outstanding individual … and she’s standing up for things that she believes in, and I share her views on those topics,” Morrison said.
“I think it’s important that they’re raised and it’s got nothing to do with, you know, the broad agenda debates. This is just about, you know, common sense and what’s right. And I think Katherine’s right on the money there.”
Morrison made similar comments during a trip to Tasmania in late February.
On Monday he told travelling reporters Chandler had been “outspoken and brave on these issues”.
“And I’ll have more to say about that at another time.”
Even though Morrison validated the proposal in February, the government did not move to bring on the legislation for debate when parliament sat for the budget session.
The proposal is divisive within the government. Chandler’s Tasmanian colleague Bridget Archer has blasted it as “a vanity bill” and “not government policy”.
Archer crossed the floor this year in an effort to secure protections for transgender children during the parliamentary debate about religious discrimination. A parliamentary rebellion by moderates forced Morrison to shelve the government’s proposal after the amendments aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ students sparked a backlash from religious schools and government conservatives.
In February Archer characterised Chandler’s women’s sport proposal as “unnecessary and divisive”.
Chandler declared on Monday that Labor and the Greens were “fighting to kill this bill, and the mainstream media is misrepresenting it”.
By donating to the fund, Chandler said, supporters could “stand up and protect the rights of women and girls by getting the word out so more Australians demand MPs and senators back my Save Women’s Sport Bill”.
“Your support today will help stop the threat of the Labor-Greens grabbing more power and dismantling women’s sex-based rights.”
Equality Australia’s chief executive, Anna Brown, criticised Morrison’s use of the issue for “cheap political points”, saying politicians should be standing up for LGBTIQ+ people.
“Enough is enough,” she said. “The political parties that wish to form government this coming election must commit to governing for all Australians, and to ensuring that every person in Australia can live their life with dignity and respect, no matter who they are, or whom they love.”
On Monday the advocacy group released the results of a survey of more than 5,000 LGBTIQ+ people, which found that one in three were undecided or were considering changing their vote this election.
“After a series of divisive debates focused on the lives of LGBTIQ+ people, many of our community have become sceptical of the political parties and are yet to make up their mind about who they’ll vote for,” Brown said.
The survey found that the environment and climate change and LGBTIQ+ issues were the two most important issues for LGBTIQ+ people, followed by healthcare and the cost of living and wages.
Of the LGBTQI+ issues canvassed, people said removing religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws, ending LGBTQ+ conversion practices and ending unnecessary medical treatment on intersex people without personal consent were the most important federal issues.
Equality Australia estimates that there are more than 850,000 LGBTIQ+ voters, representing about 5% of the 17 million people enrolled to vote.
