Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] I want to start today by talking about a particular concern in relation to the Senate's Select Committee on Administration of Sports Grants—the sports rorts inquiry. It's bad enough that the Liberal and National parties rorted hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, but it gets worse. We are seeing an increasingly concerning pattern where the coalition is desperately trying to cover up their rort by hiding the evidence as much as they can. There is a long list of documents that the Morrison government has refused to provide to the inquiry. They redacted key emails that we've requested between officers who were involved in the rorts. They refused to release the letter that Minister McKenzie sent to the Prime Minister on 10 April 2019, seeking his approval for round 3 of the program. We haven't seen the advice requested from the Solicitor-General by the Attorney-General in relation to the Minister for Sport's authority to direct the Australian Sports Commission. The minister for sport has also refused to provide the legal advice that Sport Australia sought about its powers under the act. And, of course, we still haven't seen the copy of the Gaetjens report that Prime Minister Morrison and his government tried to use repeatedly to argue that the program wasn't a rort.

But more concerning still is that we heard evidence recently that the minister's office is forcing Sport Australia officials to clear their answers to our inquiry through his office. We have heard many criticisms in recent days of how the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport has handled the COVID crisis. I am terrified at the thought that his office might have been more focused on the COVID crisis if they weren't busy covering up for their rorts by micromanaging the input of public servants for our sports inquiry. Additionally, I am concerned about the minister approving these questions and withholding crucial evidence, when Sport Australia is an independent statutory authority. This is very concerning to us and it is something we will examine further. So there's a continuing pattern here: they rorted the program, and now they are trying to cover it up by withholding documents. Sadly, the rorts don't stop there.

Just within sports funding, there are three rorts that we're aware of: the original Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program, $100 million; the Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream program, $150 million; and most recently—we've uncovered—the community development sports grants stream, $45 million. Together, they total a staggeringly-high almost $300 million in sports rorts. And that's before you talk about rorts in other portfolios, like the Collinsville coal-fired power station grant—talk about a rort!—stacked with Liberal and National old mates, with no experience, for a project that is already dead in the water. The truth is it's not just sports rorts; the whole Morrison government is a rort. Their marketing is flashy but, behind the scenes, it's a rort. It's been a rort since Tony Abbott first lied about cuts in the 2013 election and it hasn't stopped. The coalition should come clean. If they won't, it's up to us to stop them.

I now want to move onto something much more uplifting: celebrating the amazing trans and gender-diverse people in our communities. I want to speak about these powerful, inspirational people because they've been under attack again in recent times. We have seen pretty nasty rhetoric about transgender and gender-diverse people continuing to be spouted by certain media outlets, who seem more invested in stirring up moral panic to sell papers or get clicks than they are in actually reporting real news. I'm also aware of a pretty disgusting and insulting poll conducted in the ACT by a conservative lobby group in response to the recent ACT bill to prevent gender and sexuality conversion practices. This week we had a very thinly-veiled dose of trans and queer phobia served to the Senate in the form of a bill from a certain red-haired crossbencher who shall not be named. If you don't know the bill that I am talking about, don't worry. It didn't go anywhere and it's not worth the few minutes it would take to google it. I could speak for hours about the unbiased claims and untruths, and highlight the harm and ignorance of the journalists, lobby groups and politicians. But you know what they say—don't feed the trolls. Instead, I'd like to spend the rest of the time I have to address the Senate today attempting to balance things out.

For the rest of my speech, I will highlight the strength, the diversity and the sheer excellence of trans and gender-diverse people and communities in Australia. Trans and gender-diverse people have a long, rich history of peer support and mutual aid. In my home state, Seahorse Victoria was founded in 1975 as a support and social group for the transgender community. It is the longest-running organisation of its type in Australia. Seahorse was a great support for my late wife, Penny Whetton, helping her through her journey of embracing and affirming her gender identity. I recently spoke at an online Seahorse meeting on Penny's and my journeys and I was moved to see that, 20 years on from when Penny was an active member, they are continuing their critical support to transgender Australians.

And then there are newer organisations, like Ygender, who are creating spaces for community and support for new generations of trans and gender diverse people. Ygender is run by trans and gender diverse people for trans young people. They run regular social events and discussion groups for trans and gender diverse young people to talk to each other, feel more connected with their communities, and hang out in safe and inclusive spaces. They also create incredible resources for trans young people who want to know more about their rights, and for allies to better understand gender diversity.

There are many and varied arts projects that are creating visibility and celebrating trans identity. One example is Campfire Stories, which is a live streamed monthly open mic for queer and trans people to explore and to express themselves. Campfire Stories is curated by an all-trans team that aims to build kinship and collective resilience through self-expression and accessible community entertainment.

The positive impact of initiatives like this cannot be overstated, nor can the positive inclusion of trans people in mainstream entertainment. When Georgie Stone pitched her role to the producers of Neighbours, she knew how much it would mean for young people like her if they could see themselves reflected in a trans character on-screen. Now Georgie's a regular on the Australian TV soap, not only playing the role of Mackenzie but also ensuring that the character development stays true to the transgender experience.

When it comes to a joyful celebration of diverse gender identities, you really can't go past the stage show Gender Euphoria, which made waves at the Midsumma Festival last year. I attended it with a dear old friend, and we were both so moved; in fact, I was in tears for much of the show. It was only a few months after Penny had passed away, and to see trans and gender diverse stories being told so powerfully onstage was almost overwhelming. It made me realise just how much I wanted to stay connected to, and keep advocating for, these powerful, feisty people and communities. The review written by Andy Connor for The Guardian summarised it so beautifully:

As the chorus of voices lifted in the final kaleidoscopic song of Gender Euphoria, the first mainstage all-transgender show in Australian history, something rare and vital was communicated. So many trans stories are tragedies; it's easy to miss the triumphs. So much of the world is still so stigmatising and cruel to trans people that it's easy to overlook the joy. More than just relief at having escaped something, the show tells us, being trans is also about having found something. "Goodbye gender dysphoria," proclaimed cabaret star Mama Alto, "Hello gender euphoria!"

This is the note that I want to end on. These are the stories I want the Senate to hear today—the stories of triumph, of strength, of joy, of community. To any trans and gender diverse people listening to this: I want you to know that you are loved; you are seen. I know I can't take away the hurt caused by the words of others, but I can assure you that you will have a friend and an ally in this parliament for as long as I am here.