The NSW Greens have apologised after their member newsletter featured a “transphobic” article claiming the “transactivist agenda” leads to “negative consequences” for women.
The party published the article by Marrickville Greens member Margot Oliver in a recent edition of internal newsletter Greenmail.
In it, Oliver questions the legitimacy of the “transactivist agenda” and claims the transgender rights movement has “negative consequences” for women.
“There is now ample evidence on the negative consequences for lesbians and other female human beings, that ensue with the adoption of the transactivist agenda,” she wrote.
She pointed to trans activists’ “push to get the Gender Recognition Act in the UK changed to ‘self-declaration'” of gender.
“This means that any XY heterosexual male can declare himself female and demand immediate access to women’s politics, women’s spaces, women’s sports and to lesbian bodies, and charge discrimination if he does not get this access,” Oliver wrote.
Oliver also criticised the party for allowing a transgender woman to convene the party’s women’s working group.
“I am challenging Greens members to question the uncritical transactivist agenda that m2f (male-to-female) trans people must be regarded as legally, socially and biologically no different from natal women,” she wrote.
“We can support the right of everyone to be free to express their sex, sexuality and gender the way we each want to live. But not at the expense of women.”
Transgender article ‘completely unacceptable’
After the article came to light, NSW Greens co-convenor Rochelle Flood and Newtown Greens MP Jenny Leong said it was “completely unacceptable” as it “seeks to delegitimise and deny the fundamental rights of trans people.”
“It is completely unacceptable that a transphobic article was published in the Greens’ members internal magazine,” they said.
“We are so sorry this happened. The views expressed in this article are entirely inconsistent with Greens principles and our policies on trans rights.
“The views expressed by the author of this article are harmful and should never have been published in a Greens NSW publication.
“We offer our sincere apologies that this occurred and for the harm caused as a result of this.”
Flood and Leong said the NSW Greens will launch an internal review into the article’s approval.
They want to “ensure [the] magazine is able to be a place for respectful debate without undermining people’s rights or conflicting with Greens principles.”
CN: Transphobia
This is disgusting. Why are @GreensNSW sending this bigoted, transphobic hate in their internal nsw green mailout, GreenMail? Stunned to see this prejudice given a platform. Sept 2019 issue.
Cc: @Greens @jennyleong @greencate @MehreenFaruqi @ShoebridgeMLC pic.twitter.com/mp7hzAGs1v
— Sally Rugg (@sallyrugg) October 3, 2019
— Jenny Leong MP (@jennyleong) October 3, 2019
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