Victorian Greens Create Special Panel To Investigate Transphobia Within Party
Image: Both Cr Rohan Leppet (left) and Linda Gale (right) have been accused of transphobic comments. Photos: Facebook
The Greens in Victoria have created a special panel of inquiry that aims to investigate misconduct around transgender issues. Something that is predicted to fan the flames of the internal hostilities within the party.
Some have dubbed it as a ‘kangaroo court’, however as reported by The Age, individuals on both sides of the dispute have agreed that this inquiry is aimed at senior members such as Melbourne city councillor Rohan Leppert and dumped Victorian party convenor, Linda Gale.
Accusations of Transphobia
Both individuals have been accused of harbouring views that are harmful to trans people.
Discovered in internal documents, the party’s new State Council was resolved to create the panel in response to growing concern the public disagreement had on voters. The panel is set to begin its work in the new year with a deadline of 31st March 2023.
There already exists a committee that deals with misconduct, however minutes from a meeting held on December 12 noted that the new three-member panel is slated to be dedicated to investigating whether there had been any misconduct in relation to the comments about trans issues.
And if there had been misconduct found then the party needs to “apply appropriate sanctions.”
It was also noted that the public row within the party about the issue has resulted in “adverse publicity that has resulted and the impact this has had on our capacity to campaign and achieve our objectives.”
The issue that caused the internal conflicts within the party came from a debate over whether members of the party could raise concerns on trans rights and whether they conflict with the rights of cisgender women.
Trans groups spoke up and argued that trans women are women and that the distinction is harmful and discriminatory.
Greens Reaffirm Support
The Greens have affirmed that they support the trans community and their right to access gender-affirming healthcare, saying that they reject “any suggestion that trans rights should be up for debate.”
“We assure the community and our members that views questioning the identity of trans and gender diverse people and their access to gender-affirming healthcare are not representative of the position, policies and values of the Victorian Greens,” the party spoke in a statement.
“The Victorian Greens are proud of our track record as the strongest advocates for trans rights at all levels of parliament. We will always support our transgender, non-binary and gender diverse communities, and stand alongside them in their fight for equality.
“Trans rights do not conflict in any way with women’s rights to feel safe. Trans women are women, and trans women are particularly vulnerable to gendered violence.”
Due to the highly confidential nature of how the party deals with misconduct, as everyone is sworn to confidentiality, we won’t know more until the panel reports their findings in March 2023.
