The lower house of the New South Wales parliament passed a motion this week declaring support for transgender people. The show of support comes as the parliament prepared to debate legislation from One Nation leader Mark Latham that will make illegal to discuss sexuality and gender in schools.
The motion passed in the lower house was put forward by intendent MP Alex Greenwich.  Speakers supporting the motion included the Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance (Liberal), Liesl Tesch (Labor), Jo Haylen (Labor) and Newtown MP Jenny Leong (Greens). Liberal member Shane Mallard also provided a statement of support for the motion.
Read what Alex Greenwich’s motion called for.
I move that this house:
- Notes the contribution made to New South Wales from the trans and gender diverse communities
- Commends leading organisations supporting the trans and gender diverse communities including the Gender Centre, ACON, The Inner City Legal Centre, Twenty10, Trans Pride Australia and Equality Australia.
- Notes the national sports codes trans and gender diverse inclusion measures
- Notes the disproportionately high discrimination, and health, mental health and economic impacts experienced by the trans and gender diverse communities, especially during the covid-19 pandemic.
- Notes the importance of ongoing funding support for organisations and health and welfare services supporting the trans and gender diverse communities.
- Calls for the trans and gender diverse communities to be treated with dignity, fairness, respect and equality.
The Parliament of New South Wales has long worked together when it comes to matters of equality for LGBTIQ communities. We got behind marriage equality, apologised to the 78ers, removed past homosexual convictions, worked through tensions with police and continue to support the Mardi Gras.
There is still a long way to go and we urgently need to focus on the trans and gender diverse communities, whose basic health and welfare are overlooked and who are regularly subject to discrimination, stigma, isolation and exclusion. Trans and gender diverse communities have been under increased attack lately, including in this parliament where their very right to exist is subject of discussion.
Trans, transgender and gender diverse are catch-all terms for people who see their gender as different to the sex assigned to them at birth. It includes people who are non-binary, meaning they don’t identify as wholly male or female. The World Health Organization recognises that being transgender is not a mental illness however it shares concern that discrimination and ignorance of trans and gender diverse people can hinder their access to healthcare, social protection and employment, impacting on their mental health.
There are estimates that around 0.7 of the New South Wales population is transgender although it is likely to be more; they are our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances; their transgender status is their business but their dignity, fairness, respect and equality and their access to services and opportunities should be a priority for us.
Trans and gender diverse people experience significantly high rates of discrimination, harassment, bullying and stigma and report high levels of isolation and rejection; suicide rates are alarmingly high. People who are transgender face battles every day just to access employment, education, services and healthcare, in ways that most of us cannot imagine.
For many trans and gender diverse people the COVID-19 pandemic has increased already very high rates of social isolation.
Lack of access to documentation that reflects their true sex or gender creates incredible barriers in life. Transgender people are regularly forced to reveal their very personal transition experience when for example they apply for a job or need to provide a birth certificate. This is because in New South Wales a transgender person can only update the sex on their birth certificate if they have a sex affirmation procedure.
This out-of-date requirement does not reflect the reality of the vast majority of transgender people who transition without surgery. Sex affirmation procedures have health risks and long term consequences such as sterilisation and are not appropriate for everyone. The cost and recovery time can make procedures unattainable for many. Hormone treatment has now become a far more common treatment for transitioning sex though this intervention is unnecessary for some.
Most other states and territories and the Commonwealth have removed these archaic obligations and New South Wales should finally give trans and gender diverse people the security of a registered record to help them engage with employment, health and life like everyone else.
Transgender people face alarming barriers in healthcare in terms of access to gender affirming care and access to general health services. There are disturbing reports of humiliation of transgender people in the healthcare sector. A La Trobe University study from last year found that 14 percent of transgender people had been verbally harassed in a healthcare setting.
Transgender people can find it difficult to find a supportive and understanding general practitioner and often have to educate doctors because they have not been trained in transgender healthcare. Examples include failure to provide a cervix screen.
They are often refused basic gender affirming care. Despite the massive improvement to quality of life, most gender affirming treatment is not covered by the public health system and transgender people are often forced to unnecessarily see specialists. Gendered billing categories still exist in health services including Medicare billing codes.
Despite the many barriers transgender people face, they continue to provide vital contributions to the community. Leading organisations like the Gender Centre, ACON, the Inner City Legal Centre, Twenty10, TransPride Australia and Equality Australia provide vital support and advice to transgender people attempting to navigate the healthcare sector, employment, education or the justice system. They work with families to help them support their transgender loved ones. Representatives from these organisations are watching the debate from the Jubilee room.
These organisations have helped me understand the challenges of people who are transgender so that I can be a better advocate for my community.
They save lives and help people reach their best potential in work, education and the wider community. But they are at capacity and cannot meet demand for services. These organisations need increased and guaranteed ongoing funding.
I would like to inform the house of a world-first resources developed by ACON empowering trans and gender diverse people with information and the capability to advocate for themselves. TransHub is a digital platform for all trans and gender diverse people, their allies and health providers, providing easy access to information about social, medical legal affirmation as well as health and support resources. I encourage members to refer their trans and gender diverse constituents and their families to this great resource.
The trans and gender diverse communities need support from people in this place. We should look to the leadership shown by eight peak sporting bodies who recently committed to developing a trans and gender diverse inclusion framework for their sports. Sport can bring immense social, health and mental health benefits making greater inclusion of trans and gender diverse people is so important.
We in this place have a responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to health, services, education and employment, and can fulfil their potential in the community. We also have the responsibility to protect them from attack for being who they are.
I call on the house to make support and reform for the trans and gender diverse communities a priority and work towards equality, dignity and respect.
OIP Staff
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