Premium Content:

PM says there's a "time and place" for protecting trans students

Debate on the government’s Religious Discrimination Bill has continued through the night and into the early morning. Shortly before 1am Prime Minister Scott Morrison rose and rounded off the debate that has dominated the first week of parliament for 2022.

- Advertisement -

Yesterday the government announced that while it was willing to make changes to the Sex Discrimination Act to protect gay, lesbian and bisexual students from expulsion from faith-based schools, protections for transgender students would not be considered until later.

The government announced that there approach would continue to be to request a report from the Australian Law Reform Commission, 12 months after the successful passage of the Religious Discrimination Bill. The Labor party are calling for amendments to be made now, for all LGBTIQA+ students, and have also promised to look into more protections for teachers in the future.

As the PM closed off the debate he said there was a “time and place” to consider if additional protections were needed for transgender youth, but he conceded the time could be sooner, proposing a wait of six months before looking into the issue.

“Navigating adolescence is extremely difficult, in my generation that was true, but I must confess that I think that these days I think it’s even harder. Navigating adolescence, even more-so difficult for children working out their sexuality, or their gender identity.” Morrison said.

The Prime Minister recalled that Liberal MP Tim Wilson had spoken about his own experiences of losing confidence as a teenager because of his sexuality, and said nobody wanted anyone else to feel like they’d “lost their place in the world”.

The Prime Minister said the sections of the Sex Discrimination Act that were causing concern had been created by the Labor government in 2013, but the current Coalition government was now trying to improve them in relation to gay, lesbian and bisexual students.

“Times have changed, these amendments recognize this, and so we are taking that step tonight. During the course of this debate, the issue of transgender students and teachers has also been raised and there will be a time and place to address that as well.

Prime Minister Morrison said the request for the Law Reform Commission to investigate the situation of transgender students would be reduced to six months, rather than a year. Morrison said the recommendations of the Law Reform Commissioner would be tabled in parliament and kick off another round of parliamentary debate.

The PM said that legal change on it’s own would not be sufficient and more support and investment of resources would be need.

“Legal reforms on these questions will not on their own will not fix this issue,” the PM said, listing understanding, education, support, care, and love in a school community as areas that need more assistance.

Scott Morrison said he would establish a new select committee of the House of Representatives that would be headed by Liberal MP Dr Katie Allen, and supported by Fiona Reed, who both have a background in psychology.

The PM said earlier in the day he had spoken to Professor Patrick McGorry, who had confirmed that many teenagers facing challenges relating to gender identity were making use of services at youth mental health service Headspace.

Debate on the bill is still continuing in the House of Representatives, despite it being 3am in Canberra.

Graeme Watson


You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

Latest

New Russell Tovey series takes us back to the London bombings of July 2005

'Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes' arrives on UK screens this week.

Local community radio station RTRFM triumphs at Webby Awards

The station was picked over Lady Gaga, Apple Music, and Soundcloud x Billie Eilish.

Former US congressman George Santos sentenced to 7 years in prison

The former US congressman had asked for a two year sentence.

Fresh Tracks | The latest tunes worth checking out

Doechii, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Melody Pool are just a few of the artists with new music this week.

Newsletter

Don't miss

New Russell Tovey series takes us back to the London bombings of July 2005

'Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes' arrives on UK screens this week.

Local community radio station RTRFM triumphs at Webby Awards

The station was picked over Lady Gaga, Apple Music, and Soundcloud x Billie Eilish.

Former US congressman George Santos sentenced to 7 years in prison

The former US congressman had asked for a two year sentence.

Fresh Tracks | The latest tunes worth checking out

Doechii, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Melody Pool are just a few of the artists with new music this week.

On This Gay Day | In 1954 the Woolfenden Committee met for the first time

It was the first step towards decriminalising homosexuality in Britain.

New Russell Tovey series takes us back to the London bombings of July 2005

'Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes' arrives on UK screens this week.

Local community radio station RTRFM triumphs at Webby Awards

The station was picked over Lady Gaga, Apple Music, and Soundcloud x Billie Eilish.

Former US congressman George Santos sentenced to 7 years in prison

The former US congressman had asked for a two year sentence.