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The Coalition opposed reform when it mattered, embraced it when it became popular, and now calls that conviction.

Liberal leader Angus Taylor announced at the weekend that, if elected, the Coalition will amend the Sex Discrimination Act to protect women’s spaces.

Well, thank God.

But imagine… imagine if the Coalition had been in power and could have done something about it already.

Hang on a minute…

The Coalition WAS in power. For eight years. And could have done something about it.

But they didn’t.

When they HAD a chance to protect female spaces, they chose not to.

And here’s Angus Taylor’s big problem.

He wants us to believe that if we just give them a chance… they’ll NOW do the thing they didn’t do when they HAD the chance.

It’s the political equivalent of a plumber returning to your flooded bathroom to promise that, this time — after eight previous visits — he really does intend to tighten the tap.

Michaelia Cash’s Remarkable Reversal

Here’s Opposition Senate leader Michaelia Cash on Friday:

“Following the court’s decision today in the Tickle and Giggle case, the Coalition’s position remains clear. Biological women and girls deserve safe, single sex spaces. That’s not controversial. That’s common sense. The Coalition will always stand up for women and girls.”

 

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Listening to that made me giggle.

No tickle required.

As Attorney General in the Morrison Government, Michaelia Cash was perfectly placed to fix the Sex Discrimination Act.

But she decided not to.

The Guardian newspaper, April 2022:

“Attorney General, Michaelia Cash, rejected a push for changes to the Sex Discrimination Act…”

The article quoted Michaelia Cash at the time, saying,

“The Australian government recognises that individuals may identify and be recognised within the community as a gender other than the sex they were assigned at birth or during infancy, or as a gender which is not exclusively male or female.”

So, four years ago, Michaelia Cash said: “The Coalition recognises genders which are not exclusively male or female”.

But today, Michaelia Cash says the Coalition believes in biology.

Do they?

Or do they only now believe in biology because there is so much outrage over the Giggle v Tickle case?

Conviction, or Convenience?

Here’s Angus Taylor a week ago:

“For too long we have been a party of convenience, not of conviction.”

When it comes to gender issues, I think that if you checked under the Coalition’s skirt, you’d discover they’re a party of convenience… identifying as a party of conviction.

Just 18 months ago, the now Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume was asked if a Coalition Government would change the Sex Discrimination Act to specify there were only two genders and to define them as male and female.

She said no. They had no such plans. She described calls for changes to the Sex Discrimination Act as a “fringe issue” …

Speaking on morning television, Jane Hume said:

“This is not one that is top of our agenda. We need to deal with a cost-of-living crisis. With a housing crisis. With the fact that businesses are facing a cost of business crisis.

“These are the first order issues of a coalition government. These are first order issues for Peter Dutton. Talking about what’s important to ordinary Australians, not what’s important on fringe issues.”

But on Friday, the Federal Court found that an online app for women only to socialise had no right to object to a man joining in.

And suddenly, as if struck by a bolt from Mount Common Sense, the Coalition rediscovered its long-misplaced courage.

Angus Taylor said on Saturday:

“Yesterday the Full Federal Court confirmed that Australian law does not properly protect single sex spaces for women and girls. Most Australians would find that hard to believe.”

Er, no. I think Coalition members are the only Australians who found the Federal Court decision hard to believe.

The rest of us have known for years that Australian law does not protect female-only spaces.

What most Australians will find hard to believe is that the Coalition has only decided to grow a set after realising they’re politically impotent.

Angus Taylor’s statement continued:

“A Coalition government I lead will fix this. We will amend the Sex Discrimination Act to … define biological sex in the Act. Male or female. The sex you are born. And we will protect single-sex spaces across Australian life. This is not radical. It is common sense.”

And indeed, common sense has finally been invited to the party – arriving eight years late, slightly dishevelled, and wondering why everyone else is already drunk.

When Julia Gillard amended the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013 to add “gender identity” as a protected attribute, the Coalition offered no meaningful resistance.

And then the Tony Abbott Coalition Government declined to fix it.

The Malcolm Turnbull Coalition Government refused to fix it.

The Scott Morrison Coalition Government was too chicken to fix.

But the next Coalition Government… the next Coalition Government — pinky promise — will fix it!

You’ll forgive me for being suspicious.

Taylor’s Promise, Albanese’s Silence

Because after insisting that he would protect the rights of women, Angus Taylor moved to reassure men identifying as women that he would also protect their rights.

Here’s what he said:

This is not about targeting transgender Australians. Every protection they currently have remains. We are not removing a single protection from anyone.

Now, that makes about as much sense as a gender-neutral two-spirit furry.

Angus Taylor is promising to protect women from men identifying as women… while… at the same time… promising not to remove the legal protections that allow men identifying as women to be treated as women.

Which is either a brilliant legal innovation, or a contradiction so complete it should be assigned its own pronouns.

Still, at least Angus Taylor is SAYING he’ll fix the Sex Discrimination Act.

The PM is making no such promise. Which says a lot about his character, and none of it good.

Anthony Albanese was asked during the televised election debate in 2022:

How do you define a woman? Mr Albanese…

Albanese replied:

An adult female.

And then there was this exchange with UK television host Piers Morgan in 2023:

Piers Morgan: What is a woman, Prime Minister?

Albanese: An adult female.

Piers Morgan: How difficult was that to answer?

Albanese: Not too hard.

I think it’s safe to say that Anthony Albanese knows what a woman is.

So his government’s refusal to amend the Sex Discrimination Act — so as to stop adult men being legally recognised as women — is unconscionable.

Now you understand why Anthony Albanese has no problem at all saying 50 times that he won’t change negative gearing before changing negative gearing.

If the PM is happy to let the Sex Discrimination Act lie about what a woman is, do you really think he’s going to lose sleep over telling a hundred other lies?

The Coalition lacks any conviction. The Government lacks any scruples.

One is too frightened to act until focus groups give permission. The other knows the truth and governs as if truth is a relic from a bygone era.

Meanwhile, both the Coalition and the Government are confused as to why so many people are turning to One Nation.

Could it be, in part, because Pauline Hanson has never needed polling to know what a woman is?

And because Pauline Hanson has never needed to check the latest news headlines to know whether or not fixing the Sex Discrimination Act was the right thing to do.

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Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report.