Landmark reforms that are being put forward by the labor opposition could make it illegal for Australians to use the pronoun he or she instead of the persons preferred pronoun. This is an attempt to make sure that the transgender communitys rights being protected and respected. However, what the reforms are supposed to be for is to ensure that in Tasmania parents could decide if they wish to list their childs gender on the birth certificate and for persons 16 years or older to be able to legally be able to change their gender if they were to decide that is what they wish to do.
The bill passed Tasmanias lower house and now has to pass the upper house before it becomes law. Dr. Greg Walsh of the University of Notre Dame Australia states that, trying to protect the rights of everyone especially of transgender people are largely admirable however, he condemns the government dictation of how people use of the pronouns are totally and completely unacceptable. He states that it would mean that while trying to protect the transgender legal rights, it would be dictating how someone uses their language which is completely unacceptable use of state power.
An activist group called Alliance Australia says that the proposed changes is a slippery slope and then asks Whats next? The organizations national director, Gerard Benedet stated that the state has no right telling anyone what they must say or how they must say it. However, if someone were to be asked to be addressed a certain way is one thing, but to be forced by law to do so, is completely unacceptable behavior and abuse of power.
The Greens leader Cassy O’Connor told parliament, that the reform will make the transgender community, the people we should all care about, feel happier, safer and more included in their communities. Liberal Attorney-General Elise Archer believes that the reform bill is badly flawed because, it contains legally untested, unconsulted and much too problematic changes that cannot be supported and will set a bad example everywhere. Prime Minster Scott Morrison criticized the debate over gender markers removal from passports and birth certificates, stating This is the problem with Labor, being obsessed with nonsense like, removing gender from birth certificates, rather than lower electricity prices, reducing tax for businesses, families and individuals many condemned his remarks as outdated and being a total inappropriate attack on the LGBT+ community at large.
Sally Goldner, a spokeswoman for Transgender Victoria, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, that again someone on power using a destructive statement yet again. The attempt to link the words transgender and nonsense is what is totally inappropriate she states. In September, the prime minister gained widespread criticism when he commented that schools does not want ‘gender whisperers’ in response to reports that teachers are being trained to identify transgender children. Many feel that is not the case, however, teachers need training in how to address transgender children to help them have less anxiety, which will promote a healthier learning environment for all students.
