We asked Western Australian Liberal leader Basil Zempilas if he supports his party’s policy on banning puberty blockers, cross -sex hormones and removing all access to gender affirming surgery for young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria?
The response was far from full-throated support for the policy.
The Western Australian Liberal party went to the last state election with then leader Libby Mettam launching a policy to cut off access to gender affirming healthcare currently available to young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
Mettam was criticised for refusing to meet with parents of transgender youth from her own electorate, and OUTinPerth understands that approaches for discussion and consultation from LGBTIQA+ rights groups were also rejected.
This week Mettam, who is now the deputy leader and shadow health minister under first term MP Basil Zempilas, was pushing for the Cook government to follow in the steps of the Liberal governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory and bring in a ban on the current treatment approach.
In an interview with The Australian newspaper, conducted by journalist Bernard Lane, Mettam said the government should ban the current treatment regime based on the findings of the UK’s Cass Review which looked into the operation of its youth gender services.
Lane used to work fulltime for The Australian but left the newspaper to runs a website that is focused on criticism of the gender affirming care treatment approach.
Alongside her interview in The Australian, Mettam also shared her views on her social media platforms, highlighting the article from Lane.
“I am deeply concerned that the model of care supported by the WA Government for children and young people presenting with gender identity issues could lead to lifelong harms.
“Recent reporting has revealed that WA’s gender clinic model includes pathways for medical intervention in minors, including the fast-tracking of puberty blockers, while not providing extended or intensive psychotherapy as part of care. The model has not been meaningfully updated in several years and was only released publicly after sustained pressure.” she said.
Mettam said it was concerning that Western Australia was not following other countries that have brought in bans on the treatment approach.
“Children and young people experiencing gender dysphoria are often highly vulnerable and frequently dealing with other complex conditions. Their care is too important to be driven by ideology or treated as a political football.” Mettam said.
The shadow health minister said an immediate ban was needed while a review was ordered to look at all the evidence relating to the treatment approach.
Does Basil Zempilas support this policy?
When Zempilas first became the leader of the party in March 2025 OUTinPerth asked if he would be maintaining the party’s policy on banning treatment options for young people experiencing gender dysphoria?
Australian Christians MP Maryka Groenewald had publicly called for the party to stick with the policy, despite the Liberals election drubbing. There was no answer from Zempilas or his team.
Unlike Mettam who has steadfast refused to meet with parents of young transgender people, and turned down opportunities to meet with leaders in the LGBTIQA+ communities, Zempilas has had a lot of interaction with people during his time as Lord Mayor of Perth.
Just days into his first term as Lord Mayor, Zempilas was juggling roles on radio and television with his new leadership position in local government. On radio station 6PR’s breakfast program he delivered crude and offensive remarks about people who are transgender.
Met with protests and wide spread condemnation Zempilas appologised – several times, and alongside his council colleagues established the city’s first LGBTIQA+ advisory group, before bringing in a wide range of measures to support LGBTIQA+ people.
Zempilas also undertook training to improve his knowledge of transgender people’s experiences, met with members of the local community, and corresponded with parents of transgender youth. Two years later he publicly spoke about the journey he’d been on to learn more about LGBTIQA+ people and communities.
So we asked again if he supported the policy that will cut off treatment options?
“The Liberal Party took a policy to ban the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatments and surgical intervention for children under the age of 16 for the purpose of gender transition to the last election.
“Policies for the 2029 election will be developed and announced in due course.” the spokesperson for Basil Zempilas said.
The spokesperson for Zempilas said the comments made by Mettam over the weekend were “in the context” of the policy set for the last election.
We also asked if the proposed ban on puberty blockers from the Liberal party would apply only to the treatment of gender dysphoria or would also extend to other conditions the medication is used for including precocious puberty. The spokesperson did not provide an answer.
We asked if Zempilas would meet with parents of young Western Australians who are transgender, or be open to a dialog with Rainbow Futures, the peak body for the LGBTIQA+ communities. That question was also left unanswered.
Additionally we inquired why the Liberal party policy continued to maintain a strong reliance on the controversial Cass Review from the United Kingdom, and if asked the party gave any consideration to newer reports from international and Australian experts who warned against its findings. That question was left unanswered too.
Zempilas and Mettam disagreed on recent surrogacy legislation
It’s not the first time Zempilas and his deputy have had remarkably different views on an issue relating to the LGBTIQA+ communities.
Last year Mettam led the oppositions arguments against changes the laws relating to surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology.
While Libby Mettam, as the lead speaker for the party, detailed a long list of reasons she was opposed to the passage of the bill, Zempilas said he’d be voting yes. After weeks of debate across both houses of parliament the laws were changed in December.
