It is “not in the spirit of sport” to allow males in female competitions

Peter Dutton told Peta Credlin on Sky that allowing males in women’s sport is “not in the spirit of sport.” 

Despite stating he would not be changing the Sex Discrimination Act if elected, Dutton said it’s not controversial to want to protect sports for girls.

“No, it’s not,’’ Mr Dutton replied. “And again, I think it’s one of those debates that we have to be honest in, and it’s not about discriminating against anyone, including young girls.

“I just don’t believe in discriminating against anyone, not on the basis of anything, and for young girls not to be able to achieve their Olympic dream, their pathway to a World Cup, or to be displaced from a team, because, you know, somebody has a physiological advantage over them. I just don’t think that that’s in the spirit of sport.”

Asked about the “whole issue of gender treatment in young people that we’ve seen in the UK” where there’s now a ban on treatment of children under the age of 18, Mr Dutton said parents’ views needed to be respected.

“And if parents are being excluded from a discussion about the health needs of their child, something is seriously broken in the model,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“We know that there are two sexes, and we know that, you know, for many families, for different reasons, this is a very confronting debate. I mean, I respect somebody’s privacy, their privacy, of their sexuality, of their situation, and that’s paramount to me, but again, we have to have a society which respects parental rights and the rights of children to be innocent.”

Peter Dutton fell short of making any vows to protect women and children in law. There was no commitment to reinstate biological definitions of male and female back into the Sex Discrimination Act and no commitment to stop harmful, experimental treatments on children.

Now is the time to contact his office and make your views known. This issue must be a part of the election debate for the sake of all women and children in Australia.