Labor, Green cowards block Hanson Bill on biological gender identity

[Sarah B ✅]

Title: Labor, Green cowards block Hanson Bill on biological gender identity
Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: cairnsnews.org/2026/07/02/labor-​green-​cowards-​block-​hanson-​bill-​on-​biological-​gender-​identity/]
Author: cairnsnews
Date: Jul 2, 2026
Trigger Warning: This article discusses suicide.
Brief summary of the article
The article reports that Labor and Greens senators blocked Pauline Hanson's Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill 2024 from being restored to the Senate Notice Paper. It describes parliamentary responses from One Nation, Liberal and Greens senators and connects the bill to recent legal disputes involving gender identity and female-only spaces.
Main Points of the Article
"The Epoch Times reported that the two parties blocked the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill 2024 at the first reading stage before it could even get on to the floor of the Senate."

"The motion was defeated 32–25, with Labor and the Greens voting against it, while the Liberal Party supported the motion alongside One Nation."

"The bill seeks to remove 'gender identity' from the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and replace it with definitions of 'man' and 'woman' based on biological sex at birth."

"Greens Senator Nick McKim sought leave to make a one-minute statement after the vote, but leave was not granted. Labor and the Greens otherwise did not speak on the motion."

"Liberal Senator Alex Antic questioned why Labor and the Greens were unwilling to debate the motion, describing it as staggering that the two parties had voted together to defeat Hanson's attempt to restore her bill to the Notice Paper."
Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator

[Petunia]

Thanks Sarah,
Sadly this isn't the last we will hear of this.

PHON party has been courting Trump to work out how they can import his politics hear and I guess this is the start of it

[Allie Jayne]

Thanks for reporting this Sarah, for clarity, the Cairns News is a right wing publication and is why they have called Labor and the Greens cowards. They were hoping the bill would get past the first reading and allow them to debate it in the Senate. This would give them the opportunity to push anti trans rhetoric, and maybe get a 'gotcha' like they claim with the Senator Cash / Dr Anna Cody (Sex Discrimination Commissioner) incident.

The conservative case rests on conflating sex and gender, and unfortunately, we have never had a decent spokesperson to represent us. I have contacted my local MP's (State and Federal) to push for meetings with their Equality Ministers to ensure they understand the differences and are equipped with the information to adequately argue for us. I would strongly encourage all trans Aussies to do the same. Perhaps we should have a discussion here to refine points for arguments as misunderstandings from our community can be our worst enemy!

The One Nation and Liberal Bills have been stopped, but I think the Nationals still have a bill on the table. At 32 / 25 voting, they will be encouraged to do some work to lift their numbers, so this isn't over!

Hugs,

Allie

[Petunia]

You're right Allie.

Something needs to be co-ordinated and the minimum is to keep it out of parliament while the numbers are favourable.

[Allie Jayne]

I spend a lot of time engaging with anti trans people on social media, not so I can change their minds, but to find out what their arguments are.

When engaging with conservatives we need to be concise and rebuke their misinformed rhetoric. I will confine this to Women and Females as that is the target of most rhetoric. 

'What is a Woman', this is their favourite 'Gotcha' question, as few can answer concisely because it is not so simple! It is defined as 'an adult female, or social role typically of females'. Woman is a Gender term describing a social role. It varies by culture and among individuals. Trans Women (2 words) typically live that role.

'Female' is a sex term, typically referring to reproductive aspects. The common claim is that there are only XX and XY, but we know there are many more with X, 47XXY, 47XYY,45X, and XXX, plus variations of the SRY gene and body receptors. The important thing is to make it clear that Sex and Gender are completely different things! When they are conflated, it creates confusion which is what transphobes want. It is critical not to let this happen.

'Trans is a Mental Illness', is a very common claim, but easily refuted by saying the proper medical term is Gender Incongruent, and all of the world authorities like the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organisation agree the Gender incongruence is a medical condition within the range of normal human experiences. They will argue that Gender Dysphoria is listed in the DSM, but point out that the DSM makes it clear that Gender Dysphoria is not a disorder, but is mentioned to facilitate treatments.

They might claim we want to pretend to be women to get some advantage or to access women's spaces, and to answer this we need to stress that being Gender Incongruent is not a want, but a need to affirm our sense of gender. Never use the word 'Identify', as it plays into the transphobe argument that we are imagining things. Point out this is something we are born with and can't change.

A common argument is that 'you can't change sex and become a woman'. This is basically incorrect as it conflates sex and gender, but we need to agree that sex as expressed by chromosomes can't be changed. We can, however, change our social role to being a woman. Call out every time someone conflates sex and gender!

When I am educating politicians, I make an effort to clearly define sex and gender, then I show them the science which indicates Trans people studied exhibit brain structures more typical of their sensed social role. I point out for most trans people, their health depends on affirming their sensed gender. This often means losing loved ones, careers, marriages, homes and large sums of money, not to mention the surgeries and pain of other procedures. This is to reinforce that Gender Affirmation is not a want, but a serious need.

I point out that right wingers operate on flawed knowledge with conflating sex and gender, and that their claims are in contrast to the world's health authorities. I also suggest that the right are not stupid, and intentionally lie to dog whistle transphobes.

Hugs,

Allie

 

[Petunia]

I also suggest that the right are not stupid, and intentionally lie to dog whistle transphobes.

Hugs,

Allie

 

This is the essence of all the right wing propoganda.

Pick a topic, divide the people with a pseudo argument based around " it's not me and I don't understand it" the create phobia and dog whistle as loud as possible.

[Sarah B ✅]

Hi Allie

Thank you Allie for taking the time to share your thoughts.  I also appreciate your efforts to engage with people who fundamentally disagree with you, including politicians and those who are strongly critical of transgender issues.  That takes patience and fortitude.  I don't think I have the same willingness to enter those discussions, so I respect the effort.

There are, however, a few key points that would benefit from clarification, particularly where clearer definitions may help avoid misunderstanding.

The question "What is a woman?" is actually an open ended question with at least two distinct meanings.  One is asking about biological sex.  The other is asking about gender or social role.  Much of the disagreement arises because people answer one meaning while assuming the other, which often results in people talking past each other rather than addressing the same question.

If the question is about biological sex, then humans have two biological sexes, male and female.  Rare chromosomal variations and disorders of sex development are well recognised, but they do not constitute additional biological sexes.  For example, individuals with XXY (Klinefelter syndrome) are generally classified medically as male, while individuals with X (Turner syndrome) are generally classified medically as female.  These conditions illustrate that chromosomal variation exists without establishing additional biological sexes.[1]

If the question is instead about gender or social role, then it is no longer a question of biological classification but one of identity, lived experience, legal recognition or societal roles.  People may hold differing philosophical, social or legal views on that question, but it should be recognised as a separate discussion from biological sex.  Conflating the two only creates confusion because the same word, "woman," is being used in different contexts.

I also think it is important to distinguish between biological sex and gender.  They are distinct concepts, but that does not mean biological sex can be changed.  Current medicine can alter many primary and secondary sexual characteristics through hormones and surgery, but it cannot change a person's DNA or chromosomal sex.  These interventions do not alter the genetic makeup present in the cells throughout the body.[2]

The evidence regarding brain structure is still developing.  While some studies report group differences, the findings are not yet conclusive because of limitations such as relatively small sample sizes, methodological differences and overlapping results between groups.  There is currently no brain scan that can reliably determine whether someone is transgender.[3]

My view is that discussions like these become much more productive when we first establish which meaning of "What is a woman?" is being discussed, then apply the relevant scientific evidence to that specific question.

References
[1] Cools, M., Nordenström, A., Robeva, R., Hall, J., Westerveld, P., Flück, C., Köhler, B., Berra, M., Springer, A., Schweizer, K., & Pasterski, V.  (2018).  Caring for individuals with a difference of sex development (DSD): A Consensus Statement.  Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 14(7), 415-429.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0010-8 🔗
[2] Robin, N.  H., & Farmer, M.  B.  (2023).  Thompson & Thompson Genetics in Medicine (10th ed.).  Elsevier.  https://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/thompson-thompson-genetics-in-medicine-9780323881263.html 🔗
[3] Bonnekoh, L.  M., et al.  (2025).  Neuroimaging insights into transgender and gender diverse youth: A systematic review.  Neuroscience Applied.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nsa.2025.104107 🔗
Further discussion where I discuss brain differences  can be found here in this thread "The Female Mind"

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Allie Jayne @Petunia @Northern Star Girl @Lori Dee

[Allie Jayne]

Sarah, engaging on social media also assists in keeping arguments concise and small. Long winded answers get lost. When I get a valuable 45 minutes with a pollie, I also confine myself to 3 or 4 critical points, and back them up as much as I can. Any more and they get confused and the session can turn into a negative for us.

While the trans brain science is not conclusive, it cannot be totally discounted either as it has as much validity as any other diagnostic. I do present a graphic from Harvard University to politicians as it is a powerful tool to counter the strong belief that incongruence is a mental disorder.

Online, I get comments that trans people are delusional, and I counter these by quoting the definition of delusion as maintaining a belief which has no base in fact, then quote a list of major health and science bodies who confirm gender incongruence, disqualifying their claims of delusion. Then I ask them to put up the facts backing up their belief, or maybe admit they were projecting and should seek help themselves. Not one person has yet responded to this!

Today I responded to posts on a conservative MP's social media page claiming puberty blockers were dangerous, and referred them to this article in the worlds most prestigious and reputable medical journal https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00139-5/fulltext 🔗 which includes this text:
More fear is stoked by rhetoric about a malevolent threat to children. Social conservatives in the USA, UK, and Australia frame gender-affirming care as child abuse and medical experimentation. This stance wilfully ignores decades of use of and research about puberty blockers and hormone therapy: a collective enterprise of evidence-based medicine culminating in guidelines from medical associations such as the Endocrine Society and American Academy of Pediatrics. Puberty blockers are falsely claimed to cause infertility and to be irreversible, despite no substantiated evidence.

If we don't fight for us, who will?,

Allie

[Sarah B ✅]

Hi Allie

Thank you for your reply.  It was enlightening from your perspective.  You are right when you say:

Long winded answers get lost

I know the feeling only too well.  In addition you are right noting, nothing is conclusive in regards to the study of transgender brain research.  As I mentioned in my post above "Definitions" is definitely one way to kill the argument stone dead.

Finally in regards to puberty blockers the lancet article is correct and its not the only one on this issue.  The converse of using puberty blockers for "gender care" is using puberty blockers for "central precocious puberty" (CPP).

The best cited recent gender care paper is Hughes et al., JAMA Pediatrics (2025), which found 926 adolescents with a gender related diagnosis received puberty blockers from 2018 to 2022.  The paper also notes that approximately 2,160 to 5,400 children receive the same medications each year for central precocious puberty, a ratio of approximately 12:1 to 29:1.[1]

In other words, for every one adolescent receiving puberty blockers for gender care, approximately 12 to 29 children receive the same drugs for CPP.

This comparison is important because the medication is the same.  If puberty blockers were inherently dangerous simply because they are used to suppress puberty for transgender children, then the same risks would also be expected to appear in the much larger group of children treated for central precocious puberty.  Because the same GnRH agonists are used in both groups, decades of clinical experience treating central precocious puberty provide an important body of evidence supporting the safety of these medications and an important reference when evaluating their use in gender related care.

References
[1]  Hughes, L.  D., Charlton, B.  M., Berzansky, I., & Corman, J.  D.  (2025).  Gender-affirming medications among transgender adolescents in the US, 2018-2022.  JAMA Pediatrics, 179(3), 342-343.  Advance online publication January 6, 2025.  https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6081 🔗
This is an interesting discussion however this is a news thread about political and legal issues and further discussion should be carried out in an appropriate thread.  Maybe in the thread "Hormone replacement therapy".

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Allie Jayne

[Allie Jayne]

Sarah, would it be possible to move everything from my first comment to a forum with a title, 'Advocating to the government and public'?

I'm sure there are others who could give valuable insights to this topic, and strengthen our advocacy!

Hugs,

Allie

[Charlotte Kitty ✅]

I wish I believed that presenting facts would change the opinions of people that have negative views of our experiences and community. However its incredibly clear that fact does not have any relevance or clout in both politics and public opinion. Everything now is about emotion and sensationalism. Where fact is allegedly presented, it is carefully selected to reinforce the confirmation bias that all these people thrive on.

Not sure what the answer really is when you're a extreme minority % political football.