An internal war within the Victorian Greens over allegations of transphobia has taken an unexpected turn, with the leadership facing pushback from ordinary members who believe bullying by trans activists is a bigger problem within the party than bigotry.
The report of a special panel of inquiry established late last year with the support of state leader Samantha Ratnam and senator Janet Rice to investigate the purported, transphobic views of party members was handed to the Greens’ state council last Sunday.
The report, which the council refused to make available to party members but has been obtained by this masthead, makes no findings against any individuals and does not contain evidence of anti-trans sentiment being rife within the Greens.
The “overwhelming majority” of submissions made to the panel argued there was no transphobia in the party and that two prominent Greens members repeatedly accused of being anti-trans – City of Melbourne councillor Rohan Leppert and senior industrial officer Linda Gale – should be allowed to speak their mind about sex and gender.
The report reveals that Leppert and Gale have been investigated and cleared on multiple occasions over the past 12 months by the party’s regular disciplinary processes, in response to sometimes overlapping complaints.
The report noted that while five members of Queer Greens Victoria group expressed “distress and concern about what they perceived as transphobia in the [Australian Greens Victoria] AGV”, a further 32 submissions received from the party’s broader membership mostly argued that trans activists were bullies who were hurting the party.
In an email to Greens members this week, the council confirmed it had received the panel’s report and it “is treating this matter with utmost seriousness”. The council has scheduled an extraordinary meeting for Sunday to consider its response.
Source: 12ft | Lost in Transition: Report lays bare Greens gender rift, warns of split risk