Kirrlaie Smith, the head of Binary Australia, the organisation that campaigns against transgender rights and recognition, has been ordered to pay $95,000 in compensation after she was found to have vilified two transgender women.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund found that Smith and her organisation had incited hatred and serious contempt of the two women through her campaigning and social media posts. The posts related to the women participating in a community sporting competition.
Smith has also been ordered to make a public apology. The ruling requires the apology to be placed on “all social media pages and websites over which she has control”, which encompass her own personal profiles and presumably that of Binary Australia. The post must be displayed prominently on the website and pinned to the top of her Instagram and X pages.
The court’s decision was a landmark ruling as nobody had previously ever been found guilty of vilification on the grounds of gender identity. The Deputy Chief Magistrate also found that the vilification provisions under NSW law are valid and do not infringe the implied freedom of political communication under the Commonwealth Constitution.
The $95,000 fine must be paid in 28 days or it will double to $190,000.
Smith has announced she will be appealing the ruling, while also promoting a fundraising campaign to pay the fine.
Earlier this year Smith was also became the subject of a two-year Apprehended Violence Order in relation to another campaign she launched against a woman who is transgender and her participation in sport. Smith and Binary applied for the High Court to look into the decision and it was denied.
“Women have effectively been erased from law and attempts to advocate regarding public policy are shut down for the sake of the feelings of a few. Males should never be permitted to participate in female sport. As a registered third-party political campaigner and a woman, I should have the right to advocate for this without being penalized.” Smith said in response to today’s ruling.
Binary was previously known at The Marriage Alliance, but transformed into an anti-transgender group following Australia’s support for marriage equality.
In 2022 the US based Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) listed Binary as one of the top 20 hate groups in Australia.
Prior to becoming the leader of Binary Australia Smith was a prominent member of the Q Society and a campaigner against Islam and halal certification on food.
She stood as a candidate for the short lived right wing party Australian Liberty Alliance. She later joined Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives party but stood down as a candidate before the 2019 election.
