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Australia’s first ever inquiry into transgender ‘treatment’ for children has the support of key conservative Labor MPs and is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

The need for reform on transgender ‘treatment’ for Australian children is in the spotlight again, with an inquiry set to be held by the South Australian parliament.

The Australian reported on Monday that a vote will take place this week on whether the Festival State should go ahead with an inquiry, with several conservative upper house Labor MPs expressing support for the move.

Though unnamed in the report, the Labor members in view are prepared to back the inquiry if their party allows a conscience vote on the issue when the SA Labor caucus convenes on Tuesday. Their support would almost certainly ensure the inquiry takes place.

While SA Labor’s Left faction is “implacably opposed to the inquiry” according to the report, Premier Peter Malinauskas, who is from the party’s right, remains tight-lipped on his view.

If held, it would be the first parliamentary inquiry into gender dysphoria in Australia.

“The inquiry will examine all facets of treatment and support for young people with gender dysphoria, the model by which their condition is assessed, and the process by which puberty blockers and hormones can be administered, and operations approved,” according to The Australian.

“It will also consider the rights of parents and guardians in the assessment and treatment of young people and the role of government in providing education and health services for gender dysphoria.”

A Surge in Cases in South Australia

A “surge in transitioning cases in South Australia” lies behind the surprising level of cross-bench support for the inquiry, according to The Australian, with the number of children receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments almost tripling in just one year, from 58 in 2020, to 149 in 2021.

Moreover, data from the SA Department of Health data reveals that up to 2,172 children under the age of 17 are now seeking help for gender dysphoria from the state’s Women’s and Children’s Health Network, whose policy is the rushed medical model known as “gender-affirming care”.

“Given the way the numbers have exploded, I’d have thought it is a pretty clear-cut issue of child protection we are talking about here,” said independent MP Frank Pangallo, who introduced the motion to parliament in November last year.

“We need to make sure these kids aren’t making a decision that is ill-informed, or that they’re being pressured or rushed into it, or that they aren’t perhaps suffering from some other kind of mental health issue that can be resolved through other treatment.”

The Australian Senate last year voted against learning more about rushed medical ‘transition’ for minors, opposing Senator Pauline Hanson’s bid for an inquiry 38 to 25.

In more recent months, Senator Alex Antic has introduced a private members bill that would ban gender ‘reassignment’ treatment and surgery for everyone under 18 years of age, though support for it in the Senate appears to remain tepid.

Australia ‘Behind the Ball’ on Reform

The likely South Australian inquiry was discussed on Sky News Australia’s ‘The Late Debate’ on Monday night, with hosts Caleb Bond, James Macpherson and Liz Storer agreeing it would be a welcome development.

Storer noted that the medicalisation of gender dysphoria “is now a multi-billion-dollar industry” and one being driven by “clear social contagion”.

She argued an inquiry would almost certainly reveal “the tsunami of research, reports [and] everything else that’s happened, not just here in Australia but in other jurisdictions.”

“There’s a reason why the Tavistock clinic in the UK was shut down, and many others are following suit now as it comes more and more to light.”

Macpherson lamented how slow Australia has been in passing reforms on this issue.

“It seems to me Australia’s behind the ball when it comes to this argument about whether gender affirmation is the only treatment for someone confused about their gender.”

He highlighted the bombshell New York Times opinion piece published last Friday, which told the story of detransitioner Grace Powell.

The article warned of “ideological extremism” from transgender activists who urge clinicians to affirm a young person’s new gender identity and “even provide medical treatment before, or even without, exploring other possible sources of distress”.

“If those arguments are happening overseas, they should be happening in Australia, and to this point, they’re not,” Macpherson noted.

“Perhaps this is the start of it.”

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.