15th Jun 2021, 4:50 PM – Senate Motions - Gender Dysphoria - Treating gender diverse children

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Malcolm Roberts (Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party), which means it failed.

This vote was declared a conscience vote for the coalition, with the following six Liberal Party members voting 'No' against the rest of their party (who voted Yes):

• South Australian Senator Simon Birmingham;
• NSW Senator Andrew Bragg;
• Tasmanian Senator Richard Colbeck;
• Victorian Senator Jane Hume;
• NSW Senator Marise Payne; and
• West Australian Senator Dean Smith.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) in 100 years of diagnostic history of childhood gender dysphoria (GD) there is an alarming trend that teenage girls, with no history of GD, have become the largest group seeking treatment,

(ii) in the United States of America, girls requesting gender reassignment surgery in 2016-17 rose 400%,

(iii) in the United Kingdom, girls presenting with GD in the last 10 years rose 4000%, and

(iv) Australia's Royal Children's Hospital indicates referrals have grown from 1 every two years to 104 patients in 2014;

(b) further notes that:

(i) Sweden's leading gender clinic has ended treatment of minors with hormonal drugs due to safety concerns, citing cancer and infertility, and

(ii) suicide mortality rate for transgendered people is 20 times higher than comparable peers;

(c) supports children presenting with GD to be given:

(i) the 'wait and see' method as the first choice, since evidence shows between 70-90% of young people's dysphoria resolves itself by puberty, and

(ii) a comprehensive therapeutic pathway since a large percentage of these children have pre-existing mental health issues, and not a medical pathway; and

(d) condemns the practice of children receiving:

(i) experimental and unproven medical treatments of irreversible puberty blockers and sex hormone treatments, and

(ii) irreversible transgender surgery.

Myths and misconceptions

Note that this motion contains several common myths and misconceptions about healthcare for young gender diverse people. If you are interested in learning more about current best practice for treating transgender and non-binary children and adolescents (and the evidence this practice is based on), see the Standards of Care published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).