Liberal leader Peter Dutton has ruled out a future Liberal government making changes to how Australians who are intersex, nonbinary or transgender are documented on passports.
Dutton gave the promise during an interview with Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell, saying while he thought there was merit in a discussion about participation in women’s sport, a government he leads would not be following the lead of US President Trump and changing the passport rules.
Upon returning to power in January President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders relating to people who are transgender including bans on serving in the military, curbs on health care for people under the age of 18, restrictions on participation in sport, and a ban on people holding identity documents that don’t correspond with their gender assigned at birth.
Conservative media organisations and politicians have been urging the Opposition leader to embrace a strong stance against people who are transgender arguing it could be an election winning issue, but so far Dutton has resisted their calls.
While the USA has allowed a X marker alongside male and female options on passports in recent years, the option has been in place in Australia for almost 15 years.
“I’ve been clear in relation to there being two sexes and a group of people outside of male and female, a small group, but nonetheless important to recognise who are intersex or indeterminant.
“If you’re talking about genders, well people have a different association, there’s a different recognition that people have – and that’s an issue for them.” Dutton said.
“I’m in the Howard mold of not being interested in what’s happening in people’s bedrooms, I’ve got no interest in people’s relationships.” he added.
When it comes to gender markers on passports, the Liberal leader was adamant, “Our policies aren’t going to change.”
Dutton said he did believe there was a “live debate” about transgender women’s participation in playing sport in the female category.
“I think girls and women should be protected. I do think that a young girl who wants to complete in the 2032 Olympics but can’t place at the moment because she’s got biological males completing against her, I think that’s a real problem.” Dutton said.
Immediately after the interviewed aired Sky News host James Macpherson and Danica De Giorgio slammed the stance on passports, describing the Liberal leader as someone who is scared of taking action.
Macpherson said he’d like to see a strict ruling on gender including forcing people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender assigned at birth.
The interview came as the Opposition leader is working hard to put forward a positive image of himself ahead of the 2025 federal election. He was the subject on a 60 Minutes segment on Sunday night that showed him hanging out at his Queensland property and spending time with his family.
