Moira Deeming’s Anti-Trans Motion Defeated Despite Liberal Votes
Image: Moira Deeming with British anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen in Melbourne in March 2023. Image: Youtube
Expelled Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s motion for an inquiry into transgender and gender-affirming health care was defeated in the Victorian Parliament, despite her former Liberal colleagues coming to her support.
Deeming, who was expelled from the party after she participated in an anti-trans rally in Melbourne, admitted there was a political reason behind her decision to go ahead with the motion though she was sure it would be defeated.
“Honestly, I did not think that this motion would get up. I just wanted to have on record the exact names of all the people who voted against this commonsense motion,” Deeming said. The MP claimed that there was nothing in the motion that was homophobic or transphobic.
Deeming’s motion was defeated 21-16. The MPs who supported the anti-trans motion included Liberal MPs Matt Bach, Georgie Crozier, David Davis, Renee Heath, Ann-Marie Hermans, David Limbrick, Wendy Lovell, Trung Luu, Bev McArthur, Joe McCracken, Nicholas McGowan, Evan Mulholland, Nationals MP Melina Bath, Independent MP Adem Somyurek and One Nation MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell.
Harmful Debate
Labor and Green MPs opposed the motion, slamming the harmful debate.
Out gay Labor MP and Minister for Equality Harriet Shing said that the way Deeming’s motion was phrased “invites a conclusion that trans and gender-diverse identity is not only other but is wrong.”
“We have worked so hard since 2014 to lean into not only these challenges, not only the constant current of discrimination, that laminated disadvantage that occurs throughout the whole of a trans or gender-diverse person’s life, but to make sure that where we can we are providing counterpoints to it in the way in which documentation – a birth certificate – can reflect the identity of a person, to give a sense of reflection in bureaucracy, something so personal as that,” said Shing, adding, “That this can be the subject of politics ignores the reality of the value of the treasured nature of a pronoun where it is reflected in that official documentation.”
‘Waste Of Time’
Out gay greens MP, Aiv Puglielli described the debate as a “waste of our time”.
“You would think that people in this place representing the wonderfully diverse members of the community would use their debate slot to raise issues affecting the community, but instead we get to waste our time on this, an attack on an already marginalised and persecuted group for no other reason than to entertain the fringe beliefs of a small few in this place,” said Puglielli.
“Haven’t trans and gender-diverse people been through enough?” asked Puglielli.
“It is not enough for some in this place that trans and gender-diverse people are receiving an unprecedented amount of hate. They want to remove their health care too.”
The Greens MP reminded the house that healthcare decisions for young trans persons come from experts and medical professionals.
“The medical care that trans kids are receiving from the dedicated, caring professionals in Victoria is exemplary, and I trust those professionals far more than members in this place who have a very public disdain for trans and gender-diverse people and a very transparent political goal. They do not care about kids. They care more about a headline in the paper,” added Puglielli.
Good Ol’ girl Moira, practicing the golden rule of, always punch down. No one ever lost a seat by appealing to the closed minds of the outer urban redneck.
I am delighted that Moira Deeming’s motion has been defeated in Parliament. I don’t know why she bothered to move it.