The Australian Conservatives’ Jonathan Crabtree as voiced his opposition to assisting people who want to undergo gender reassignment surgery using the crudest of terms.

In a video the political candidate referred to transgender people as being “sliced and diced”.

“It’s going to be our taxpayer funds that are used to slice and dice people who are thinking twice about their gender.” Crabtree said in a video with the Australian Christian Lobby.

Speaking to former state Liberal MP and anti-marriage equality leader, Peter Abetz, Crabtree outlined that his party was opposed to the Labor party’s policy which says it will work to remove the financial obstacles that  transgender people face.

The Australian Conservatives lead senate candidate said his party was firmly opposed to gender reassignment surgery being fully covered by medicare.

“They need some compassion at that stage because they are having a bit of an identity crisis, and for our taxpayer funds to be used in that way is entirely inappropriate.” Crabtree said.

The video was uploaded in April but unlisted on the Australian Christian Lobby’s YouTube channel. Last week Crabtree shared the video on his social media platforms.

The challenge many transgender people face in not being able to access gender affirming surgery has been well researched and documented.

Back in 2012 OUTinPerth published a report that looked into the linkage between high depression and anxiety rates among transgender people and the difficulty in accessing medical treatment.

Graeme Watson

Jonathan Crabtree did not respond to OUTinPerth’s request for comment.