Drew Hutton, co-founder of the Australian Greens, says a “cult mentality” has taken over his now-former party after he was officially expelled for a social media post regarding transgenders.
The party’s Constitution and Arbitration Committee’s (CAC) moved to expel Hutton on May 30, following a suspension in July 2023 because he refused to delete comments left under a Facebook post of his.
On July 20, he attended the Queensland Greens’ state council meeting to appeal the decision, but members voted overwhelmingly to reject his appeal, with a 75–23 vote.
The 23 votes in support included Greens founder Bob Brown and the party’s first female leader, Christine Milne.
The issue stems from a 2022 Facebook post, where Hutton weighed in on the decision to annul the election of the Victorian branch’s state convenor Linda Gale and a New South Wales member Anna Kerr over their supposed transphobic comments.
Hutton labelled these moves “authoritarian and antidemocratic” and his post generated heated discussion, some of which he himself deemed “hurtful and disrespectful.”
The Facebook post read: “I believe in full human rights for trans people at the same time as supporting the right of women to be free from patriarchies’ oppression. I am also prepared to say these things publicly. Unfortunately in the Greens at present that would seem to make me a transphobe.”
While the CAC found Hutton himself had not demeaned trans women, it did find that he provided a platform for others to do so by not removing comments under his post, which is deemed to have violated the party’s code of ethics.
Hutton said he is “very disappointed” with the direction of the greens are taking.
“They seem to be obsessed about transgender rights and not taking a strong enough stand on environmental issues,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The party that I founded here in Queensland 30 years ago saw itself as having an historic mission to help move the world towards ecological sustainability.
“The emphasis now seems to be on the rights of particular identities. That’s not the sort of party that I think Australia needs at the present time.”
The former party leader, known for initiating the “Lock the Gate” campaign against coal seam gas mining in 2010, said a “cult mentality” had taken over.