Nationals leader Matt Canavan has launched a petition to “protect women's spaces”, continuing his campaign alongside prominent activist Sall Grover. The petition aims to overhaul the Sex Discrimination Act to define “what a woman is”.
Background of the campaign
Mr Canavan and Giggle for Girls CEO Sall Grover launched the petition on Wednesday, following a major court ruling. In mid-May, Ms Grover lost her appeal of a 2024 decision that found she unlawfully discriminated against transgender woman Roxanne Tickle by barring her from the women-only platform. Ms Tickle had sued Ms Grover after being barred from the app in 2021.
Petition supports Alison Penfold's bill
Mr Canavan said the petition supports Nationals MP Alison Penfold’s bill to amend the Sex Discrimination Act to recognise men and women in law. “Since last week I have been gobsmacked with the outpouring of support for Alison's bill... to recognise the uniqueness, the distinctness, the importance of recognising spaces, protections in law for women and girls in particular,” Mr Canavan said on Wednesday.
He added: “Our current laws clearly don't do that, we've had that confirmed by the full Federal Court and we just need change, we need sensible, common sense change. There's a vast majority of Australian support to recognise men and women in our laws, but to do so in a way which also respects people of other gender identities and protects their rights as well.”
Renewed criticism of Prime Minister
Mr Canavan also renewed protests against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who dismissed the issue as another battle in the “culture wars”. “I think the women of Australia deserve to know from their Prime Minister whether or not he will support putting a definition of their biological sex of women into Australian laws and therefore protecting them,” he said.
“The Prime Minister's tried to dismiss this as a culture war, well it hasn't been a culture war for women like Sall Grover, like Kirralie Smith, who'll be dragged through the courts. It's not a culture of war for the thousands of women that contacted my office, who simply want recognition for their ability to associate with other women of that biological sex.”
Petition details
The petition's website said the Federal Court’s ruling in the Giggle for Girls case proved Australia’s laws were not “fit for purpose” and that Ms Penfold’s bill would fix the Sex Discrimination Act. The bill seeks to “restore” sex-based protections for women and girls, reinstate the legal definition of a woman, define biological sex in the Act, and protect women’s services, spaces and activities.
“Sex is a biological reality and our laws should reflect that reality,” the petition site said. “We, the undersigned, call on the Federal Parliament to support Alison Penfold's Bill and restore protections for women and girls in law.”
