At the National Press Club on Wednesday, The Women’s Advocate put a direct question to the Sex Discrimination Commissioner about her powers and obligations under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 and why women advocating for women’s sex-based protections and rights have not been properly consulted on the development of key sex and gender policies in Australia.
This is not a campaign against others’ rights: It is advocacy for our own. And it is simply to insist that, where rights are in conflict – for example, in sport or in prisons or change rooms – then those conflicts must be addressed openly and mediated on the basis of proportionality, rather than allowing women’s rights to be quietly displaced and overridden by administrative re-definition. This is the role of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
We welcome the opportunity to sit down with the Commissioner and further explain where we believe women have not been adequately consulted. A transcript of our exchange with the Commissioner is provided below.