Protect Trans Kids of Queensland (and the rest of Australia)

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program, because for the last 2 weeks my life has been interrupted, to say the least, and so we have not had time to record a new episode of the podcast. A decision made by the Queensland LNP government to essentially ban gender affirming healthcare to under 18's in this state has thrown an almighty spanner in my life, and the lives of so many people I know, love, and care for. I have spent the last two weeks protesting, writing letters, making phone calls, being interviewed by media, appearing on the radio, but most importantly supporting the people in my life who are also affected by this decision to take away basic human rights of young people. Healthcare is a human right. Trans rights are human rights.

We have seen rights and services provided to people with disabilities being taken away already, we have seen the NDIS be undermined and broken to pieces. This is only going to get worse. We see minorities targeted, and when they attack one of us they attack all of us. I have spent most of my time working in this sector to help transgender people with disabilities, it has been my privilege and passion to do so. This hits me so close to home.

If what I’ve said so far has you reaching for your phone to skip this episode, so be it. We will be back in two weeks with our amazing LIVE episode. If you want to know more about what is happening, or want to find out how you can help, we will provide links in the show notes for this episode. I especially want to shout out the trans justice project, transjustice.org.au for organising events across the country over the last weekend.

But for now, here is a recording of the speech I gave on Saturday the 8th of February 2025, in front of over 5,000 people on the steps of Queensland parliament. The quality is a little wonky, but I do encourage you to have a listen and educate yourself on what is happening. We need all of the support we can garner from everyone out there, not just those within our community. Please share, please get involved if you can. Thank you.

If you want to get in touch with me about this episode, email me at:

[e-mail]

Please support the Trans Justice Project, check them out here:

https://transjustice.org.au/

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We acknowledge the original owners of the land on which we podcast, whose stories were told for thousands of years.

(00:06):
Today, we are recording in Mianjin.
We pay our respects to elders past and present who may be listening.
Sovereignty was never ceded.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled program because for the last two weeks, my life has been interrupted, to say the least.
And so we have not had time to record a new episode of the podcast.

(00:32):
A decision made by the Queensland LNP government to essentially ban gender affirming health care to under 18s in this state has thrown an almighty spanner in my life and the lives of so many people I know, love and care for.
I have spent the last two weeks protesting, writing letters and making phone calls, being interviewed by the media, appearing on the radio, but most importantly, supporting the people in my life who are affected by the decision to take away basic human rights of young people.

(01:13):
Health care is a human right.
Trans rights are human rights.
You may already know what I'm talking about.
You may not.
Chances are, if what you know about what is happening now in Queensland and no doubt elsewhere in Australia soon enough is from the news, then I'm afraid you may not really understand the impact of what's happening or the motives.

(01:42):
The LNP, when in opposition, promised they would ban gender affirming care to their donors, party members and people on the crossbench like Pauline Hanson.
That's right.
This is her agenda, not just the right wingers, the Christian right and the culture warrior spineless politicians.

(02:07):
You might have heard about wrongdoing at a clinic in Cairns, a clinic that see patients in the tens per year, a clinic that have not been proven to have done anything wrong.
But if they did, it affected a small handful of people.

(02:28):
The situation in Cairns is a convenient scapegoat, which allows the government to do what they were always intending on doing, but without having to take responsibility for it themselves.
You may have also heard that these medications are dangerous.
Well, any medication is dangerous if not monitored by trained health care professionals.

(02:58):
Everything is poison in the wrong dose.
These exact medications are given to cisgender children still and will continue to be.
This is not about safety. This is about taking away the rights of transgender and gender diverse youth.

(03:19):
We have seen rights and services provided to people with disabilities being taken away already.
We have seen the NDIS be undermined and broken into pieces.
This is only going to get worse.
We see minorities targeted and when they attack one of us, they attack all of us.

(03:44):
I have spent most of my time working in this sector to help transgender people with disabilities.
It has been my privilege and my passion to do so.
It hits so close to home.
If what I've said so far has you reaching for your phone to skip this episode, so be it.
We will be back in two weeks with our amazing live episode.

(04:08):
If you want to know more about what is happening or want to find out how you can help,
we will provide links in the show notes for this episode.
I especially want to shout out the Transjustice Project, transjustice.org.au
for organising events across the country over the last weekend.

(04:30):
But for now, here is a recording of the speech I gave on Saturday, the 8th of February 2025
in front of over 5,000 people on the steps of Queensland Parliament.
The quality is a little wonky, but I do encourage you to have a listen and educate yourself on what is happening.

(04:52):
Thank you.
Queenslanders, we're here today to fight for the fundamental rights of our young people.
The right to be authentically themselves, the basic human right to access appropriate health care
and the essential right to envision and build a future where they can flourish

(05:17):
and reach their full potential as individuals.
Today we stand against the Queensland Government's actions, actions that threaten our entire community,
actions that take away young people's rights and actions that jeopardise their lives.
We stand because we must.

(05:39):
We stand because we must.
We stand because we must.
We stand because we must.
We stand because we must. We must be heard.
Transgender youth worldwide are under attack.

(06:05):
But we stand here today in solidarity with the trans youth of Queensland.
The transgender youth here in this state are facing an unprecedented assault on their basic rights.
The Queensland Government have decided to systematically deny access to life-affirming health care, life-saving health care.

(06:36):
This situation isn't just wrong, it's fundamentally dangerous.
It's blatantly discriminatory and it stands in stark opposition to everything we claim to value as a compassionate, progressive and just society.
All of our stories, each unique and powerful, need to be heard and acknowledged.

(07:09):
And I'm profoundly grateful to everyone who has shown the courage to share their personal journey here today.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you.
My name is Hannah and I am a mother of trans teenagers who are aged 15 and 13 years old.

(07:32):
We love that!
I stand before you today as someone who considers herself the luckiest cisgender person alive.

(07:54):
Through the awesome transgender people in my life, I have been granted an opportunity to deeply contemplate and understand the complexities of gender and the profound journey of self-discovery.
Unlike many cis people who may never question or examine their gender identity, I have been privileged to explore these fundamental aspects of human existence in ways that most don't get to.

(08:25):
To properly tell my story, I need you all to join me in the way back machine.
To journey back through time, I first met my wife Ellie in 2008 when I was already a parent to a 3 year old.
In true lesbian style, we met and married within just 5 months of knowing each other.

(08:57):
I love the way!
Fast forward through 11 wonderful years to late 2019 when Ellie approached me with something important to share.
She explained that she was trans and non-binary.
She explained that she had always felt like something was wrong and never felt inside like she was the person people could see from the outside.

(09:25):
Trans visibility barely existed when she was growing up.
Anytime a transgender person appeared in the media or elsewhere, it was profoundly negative portrayal or a joke.
She could not be what she could not see and it took the first few decades of her life to see positive trans representation

(09:51):
and meet happy and supportive transgender people like her.
While it took me a moment to process this revelation, my immediate response was to ask her how I could support her.
Together we embarked on a journey of research and reached out to our trans friends for guidance on where to begin.

(10:13):
In early 2020, we took the step of sitting down all 3 of our children to explain what was happening
and prepare them with all the knowledge we had found about gender diversity.
The reaction from the kids at that stage, age 10 and 8, were that they were non-binary too.

(10:37):
For the first time in their lives, they had a word for their experience and an explanation for how they had always felt.
Let me be absolutely clear. Ellie didn't influence our children to become trans.
They were already transgender. They simply lacked the vocabulary to express their truth.

(11:02):
The absence of words like transgender, non-binary, agender, intersex and other non-cis het terms
in their early education didn't make them cisgender either.

(11:25):
Instead, it left them in a state of confusion and uncertainty.
They struggled to understand why they felt different from their peers.
It's crucial to understand that you cannot simply ignore or suppress someone's identity.
Attempting to do so only instills a deep, seeded feeling that something is wrong with them.

(11:52):
I want to state unequivocally that nothing is wrong with my children.
They are exactly who they are meant to be, perfect in their authenticity.

(12:18):
I want to share with you the story of my 15-year-old, the amazing and extraordinary Vee.
Some of you might have seen her little video on Instagram.
When Vee came out to us, we took her to the GP to get a referral to the Queensland Children's Hospital Gender Service.

(12:44):
I can first hand a test to the thorough and careful approach they take regarding gender-affirming care for children.
Our experience with the Gender Clinic has been amazing.

(13:09):
The dedicated, caring, professional staff there have helped both Vee and our other transgender child to understand how they feel,
find the right pathways for their journey and help our family along the way.
Our other trans child chose not to take a medical approach to their gender, and the clinic has supported them with education and care.

(13:37):
Vee's journey through the medical system has been thorough and comprehensive, requiring multiple appointments and assessments over several years.
From blood tests to x-rays to psychiatry, speech pathology and social workers, the process is rigorous, professional, medically informed and above all else, psyched.

(14:23):
Throughout this process, Vee has engaged in numerous in-depth discussions with the Gender Clinic staff about her journey, her understanding of transition and her hopes for the future.
Only after these extensive evaluations were completed was the possibility of puberty blockers even considered.

(14:46):
This brings me to a crucial point that I believe many politicians fundamentally misunderstand or willfully ignore.
Medical transition is not a quick or casual decision.
The notion that we as parents can simply walk into a clinic and request medication for our children is entirely false and grossly misrepresents the careful, measured approach that healthcare professionals take.

(15:28):
Since November 2020, Vee has been receiving puberty blockers, a treatment that followed months of careful evaluation and consideration.
Throughout her journey of self-discovery, Vee explored various names and pronouns, seeking those that truly reflect her identity.

(15:51):
I must admit there were moments of confusion as a parent struggling to keep up with the names as Vee explored what felt right for her.
However, when she discovered the name Vee, it resonated so deeply that it has remained her chosen name for several years now.

(16:15):
Her certainty about wanting to begin female hormones was clear and unwavering.
Yet despite having witnessed her mum's transition and having a thorough understanding of hormone replacement therapy through direct observation,
she still had to undergo extensive testing and assessment to prove her comprehension of the treatment she was requesting.

(16:42):
The devastating announcement came on Tuesday 28 January when Tim Nicholls declared what can only be described as a ban on trans-affirming healthcare for individuals under 18.
The timing couldn't have been more cruel. Vee was mere days away from her final assessment for HRT prescription scheduled for that Friday.

(17:13):
When we attended the appointment, the dedicated professionals at the Gemda Clinic had to deliver the heart-wrenching news that Vee would be unable to progress from puberty blockers to HRT.
They explained with evident frustration and concern that the government's announcement lacked crucial detail about what medical procedures were permitted or prohibited.

(17:45):
This is where my anger towards Premier David and Minister Tim reaches its peak.
If you are going to make this unilateral and deeply impactful decision to strip away fundamental human rights, you have an absolute obligation to provide complete and clear information.

(18:22):
These politicians have awakened something fierce within me, the protective instincts of a mama bear defending her cubs.
I will protest until this decision is reversed. I will compose letters, make phone calls, talk to anyone and everyone who needs to understand the importance of gender-affirming care for our young people.

(18:56):
I will not stop advocating for change for this decision. I will be here today speaking out and standing up even if this decision was not directly affecting my family.
I know how important this is to those who were on the waiting list for the gender service. I know how important this will be for the young people next year, three years from now, ten years from now, who need this service.

(19:29):
Instead they are left finding their own way, finding their own medications, all without the safety of the team at the gender clinic.

(19:51):
History has shown us time and again that progress is never freely given. It must be fought for with determination and resilience by those who refuse to accept discrimination and injustice.

(20:15):
The rights we had were fought for. It was hard, decades long fight for recognition and acceptance. Trans people have always existed and they will always exist.

(20:39):
The time has come for us to amplify our voices and demonstrate to the world that Queensland stands firmly for equality, compassion and the fundamental rights of all its young people.
Together we have to forge a future where every young person, regardless of their gender identity, can access the vital care they need and rightfully deserve. We have to stand up and fight back.

(21:12):
Thank you for listening. Please share with people you know. Until next time, as the Green Brothers say, don't forget to be awesome.