QNews: Activist Kirralie Smith fined $95k over anti-trans vilification
Michael Barnett OAM
Activist Kirralie Smith fined $95k over anti-trans vilification
Anti-trans activist Kirralie Smith has been ordered to pay a fine of $95,000 and issue a public apology after a court found she unlawfully vilified two trans women.
In August, Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund found that Smith and her anti-trans advocacy group Binary Australia incited hatred and serious contempt against two trans women. The two athletes were targeted for playing football with their local clubs.
The ruling related to a series of posts that Smith published on X over several months in 2023 and 2024. The court’s judgement was the first time a court had found someone to have been unlawfully vilified a person for being trans under NSW law.
Following the ruling, Smith has now been ordered to pay the fine and publish a public apology across “all social media pages and websites over which she has control”. The $95,000 fine must be paid within 28 days, after which it will double, Smith wrote on X.
“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,” Smith wrote.
“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 penalised.”
Trans athletes suffered ‘horrendous harassment’
In her ruling, Deputy Chief Magistrate Freund found the vilification provisions under NSW law are valid and don’t infringe on the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
Responding to the ruling, Equality Australia said the two trans women “were subjected to horrendous harassment online, including being publicly identified, outed and misgendered.”
“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,’” Equality Australia’s Legal Director Heather Corkhill said.
“Not only is that argument baseless — it’s against the law.
“People who target vulnerable minorities to incite hatred and fear need to be called out and stopped.
“Smith and her supporters are out of step with the law, out of step with community values, and out of step with modern Australia.”
Back in August, Smith lost a NSW Supreme Court appeal against a decision to grant an apprehended personal violence order (APVO) against her from one of the trans athletes.
Kirralie Smith wrote on X she plans to appeal the ruling.