South Australian senator Alex Antic has announced that he intends to introduce a private members bill to amend the Sex Discrimination Act and remove references to gender identity.
The Liberal senator announced his intention to introduce the bill when parliament returned last week. The laws were updated by the Gillard government in 2023 giving greater protections to people who are transgender, intersex or non-binary, a change that Antic would like to see reversed.
“Sex is not a social construct. It’s a core biological reality that underpins human nature and the protections the act was meant to provide. The 2013 amendment made discrimination based on one’s appearance or mannerisms with reference to gender identity an offence. It is this approach that has led to outcomes which, one suspects, were not properly considered at the time of the 2013 amendment.” Senator Antic said in parliament.
The South Australian senator argued that clearer definitions would be of benefit to people who experience gender dysphoria.
“If we really care about those who are suffering from gender dysphoria, we should be speaking this truth, not amplifying the issue. The confusion, it must be said, needs to end.
“My bill would remove the references to gender identity and restore the act’s clear definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ as members of the male and female sexes, respectively, ensuring that the act once again protects women, upholds fairness and respects the truth.” the senator said announcing his intention.
The conservative politician has a long history of opposing the transgender and non-binary communities. He’s previously called for parliamentary inquiries into gender treatments for youth, and attempted to introduce legislation to prevent transgender youth from accessing gender affirming medical treatment.
In 2022 he suggested a television segment where drag star Courtney Act read a story to children was an example of “grooming behaviour”. The previous year the senator mocked people who are transgender by saying he wanted to “identify as an AFL star”.
He also pledged to fight any move for Australians to have a non-binary marker on their passports, seemingly unaware that people have been able to have an X gender marker for more than a decade.
While Senator Antic’s bill is unlikely to be brough forward for discussion in the parliament, the legislation will be tested in court this week when the dispute between social media app Giggle and transgender woman Roxanne Tickle returns to court.
Sal Grover, the founder of the social media app, is appealing to the full bench of the federal court over a decision handed down last year that found her company had discriminated against the transgender woman. It was the first time the changes to the Sex Discrimination Act had been tested in court since being implemented in 2013.
