The boundaries of free speech in the transgender rights debate appear set to be determined in a High Court test case over alleged incitement of hatred at a public rally.
Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commission Sarah Bolt has ruled Hobart City councillor Louise Elliot must face a tribunal inquiry for allegedly inciting hatred against transwomen at a March rally.
Ms Elliot told the Hobart rally, attended by British transgender reform critic Kellie-Jay Keen, that “transwomen … remain biological men” and some change gender “to gain attention”.
Ms Elliot also used the speech, posted online, to suggest transwomen should be excluded from women-only spaces because “you can’t be raped with a penis if there is no penis present”.
That defence will likely see the case proceed to the High Court, regardless of outcome. Ms Elliot hopes to raise $100,000 to pay for a long legal battle.
Source: Louise Elliot cites Constitution in transgender ‘hate speech’ defence | The Australian