Star Observer: Pauline Hanson Shares Grandson's Gender Question As Part Of Binary Australia Campaign
Michael Barnett OAM
Pauline Hanson Shares Grandson’s Gender Question As Part Of Binary Australia Campaign
Senator Pauline Hanson has leant her support to Binary Australia as they attempt to raise more than $250,000 in legal funds, sharing a personal story of her grandson’s own questions with gender.
Binary Australia, formerly known as anti-marriage equality group Marriage Alliance, are seeking $263,000 in donations from their supporters by the end of October as part of their High Court Legal Defence Fund to support spokeswoman Kirralie Smith’s High Court appeal.
In August, Smith and Binary Australia were found to have unlawfully vilified two trans women in a series of social media posts, marking the first time someone has been found to have unlawfully vilified a person for being trans under NSW law.
A decision on the amount in damages and other orders will be handed down in November, but Smith and Binary could be made to pay up to $100,000 in damages for vilifying one woman, with Smith facing a further $100,000 for vilifying another.
In an email sent to Binary Australia supporters on Friday evening, Hanson said she reached out to Smith with support because she knows “how important this fight is for all of us”.
“I’ve spoken up for years about this radical gender ideology that’s crept into every part of our lives,” wrote Hanson.
“My own grandson came home from school recently and asked: ‘When do I get to choose if I’m a boy or a girl?’
“He didn’t think that up himself. Someone taught him that nonsense.”
Hanson says fight is about “truth, children, and the future of our country”
Hanson has regularly campaigned against transgender rights, and has repeatedly failed in her attempts to get the Senate to conduct an inquiry into gender affirming care.
In December, she demanded a high-level review into the findings of the UK’s independent Commission on Human Medicines report, as well as an inquiry into the “real causes” of the rapid increase in Australian children presenting with gender dysphoria.
“I’ve stood up for parents who want transparency in schools, and for women who deserve fairness in sport,” she wrote in the call for support. “And I’ll keep fighting – because this is about truth, children, and the future of our country.”
In addition to more than $200,000 in damages, Smith and Binary Australia- which was listed as an “far-right hate and extremist group” by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism in 2022- may be required to undergo anti-discrimination training, take down the posts that publicly identified the football players, and issue public apologies for misgendering them.
“Trans Australians continue to face relentless attacks that push them out of public life and contribute to some of the most severe mental health outcomes in the country,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill at the time of the ruling.
“Today’s judgement proves beyond doubt that those who engage in doxxing and targeted attacks on vulnerable minorities are not simply expressing ‘free speech’, they are abusing individuals in clear violation of the law.”