Star Observer: Anti-Trans Activist Kirralie Smith Ordered To Pay Almost $100k & Issue Public Apology Following Vilification Ruling
Michael Barnett OAM
Anti-Trans Activist Kirralie Smith Ordered To Pay Almost $100k & Issue Public Apology Following Vilification Ruling
Anti-trans activist and Binary Australia spokesperson Kirralie Smith has been ordered to pay $95,000 in fines and issue a public apology after she was found to have vilified two trans women earlier this year.
On August 23, Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund found that Smith and Binary Australia- formerly anti-marriage equality group Marriage Alliance- incited hatred and serious contempt for two women, who were targeted after playing football with their local clubs.
It marked the first time someone had been found to have unlawfully vilified a person for being trans under NSW law.
Smith published a series of posts on X over several months in 2023 and 2024 specifically targeting trans individuals, broadcasting their faces, names, and the dates and locations where their teams would be playing to more than 30,000 followers.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Freund found that the vilification provisions under NSW law are valid and do not infringe the implied freedom of political communication under the Commonwealth Constitution.
“The court has made it clear: online posts made in bad faith that incite hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule regardless of the harm it causes cannot be disguised as ‘political communication’. Not only is that argument baseless — it’s against the law,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill.
Smith continues to appeal rulings
Smith has been ordered to publish a public apology across “all social media pages and websites over which she has control”, which encompass her own personal profiles and presumably that of Binary Australia. The post must be displayed prominently on the website and pinned to the top of her Instagram and X pages.
The $95,000 fine must be paid within 28 days, after which it will double.
“It is disappointing that the word ‘woman’ has been redefined to include males and that the words ‘violence’ & ‘vilification’ have been applied to speaking the truth about information in the public domain,” she said in a post on X on Friday morning.
“Males should never be permitted to participate in female sport. As a registered third-party political campaigner and a woman, I should have the right to advocate for this without being penalized.”
In August, Smith lost her appeal in the New South Wales Supreme Court against a decision to put in place an apprehended personal violence order (APVO) to protect one of the players from further harassment and intimidation.
A further attempt to appeal the decision in the High Court was this week dismissed, with Smith ordered to pay the woman’s legal costs.
She had previously raised more than $250,000 through Binary Australia to cover her own legal costs.
“This decision, along with the High Court Appeal for the apprehension of violence order being denied, sets a precedent that all journalists, politicians and political advocates must take note of,” Smith said.
“The law might state men can be women, but it defies the laws of nature and cannot be sustained. Nothing will steal my joy in knowing that I am a woman and no male ever will be. I am proud to stand for truth and reality.”
Smith has said she will be appealing the decision.