Victoria state MP Louise Staley is under fire for comments she has made about transgender people.
Last night in the Victorian parliament the Liberal member argued against allowing transgender people to able to change the gender on their birth certificate. The Liberal MP believes it should only be allowed if people have undergone gender reassignment surgery.
The Andrews Labor government have introduced legislation that would allow a person’s gender to be change on their birth certificate without the surgery requirement. Similar changes were brought in WA several years ago following a High Court challenge.
“This is the sort of post-modernist mumbo jumbo we have come to expect from the Andrews Labor government,” Staley told the Victorian parliament last night during the debate.
The MP said that as a feminist she believed transgender people who didn’t have surgery were not fully committed to being women.
“The feminist in me objects strongly to a man changing his birth certificate to female because he feels enough of a woman to identify as one but not enough to take the step of permanently doing so,” Staley said.
The Chair of Transgender Victoria, Brenda Appleton, has told the Star Observer that some of the MP’s comments made her feel ignored.
“The MPs [in opposition to the bill] seemed to feel that passing this legislation will suddenly lead to people becoming trans and being a threat to society,” Appleton told the Star Observer.
“The reality is that trans people have always been there, and I felt that a lot of their comments were denying our existence and our positive contributions to the community.”
Martin Foley, Victoria’s Minister for Equality, said the Liberal member should apologise to the trans community.
Louise Staley was contacted for comment.
OIP Staff
