Better Late Than Never. But Mostly Late.
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.
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.
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 Tickle case.
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” …
