Scott Morrison and trans teen Evie Macdonald. | Photos: Facebook / Channel 10
A trans teen just confronted the Prime Minister of Australia over an anti-trans tweet he posted on Wednesday (5 September).
PM Scott Morrison shared a Daily Telegraph article claiming training teachers to be aware of transgender students would lead to a surge in young people transitioning.
‘We do not need “gender whisperers” in our schools,’ he tweeted. ‘Let kids be kids.’
13-year-old trans girl: ‘I had to pretend to be a boy’
Morrison then appeared on Channel 10’s The Project last night (6 September).
When presenter Carrie Bickmore brought up the PM’s ‘gender whisperers’ comment, she revealed a 13-year-old trans teen sent in a video question into the show.
‘This is what I want to say to the Prime Minister,’ Evie Macdonald said in the video. ‘There are thousands of kids in Australia that are gender diverse and we don’t deserve to be disrespected like that through tweets from our Prime Minister.’
She continued: ‘I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of attitudes like this. I went to [a] Christian school where I had to pretend to be a boy and spend weeks in conversion therapy.
‘We get one childhood and mine was stolen from me by attitudes like this,’ she said.
Morrison responds: ‘I love all Australians – whatever background they come from.
‘I want kids allowed to be kids and I want parents to be respected as parents of those children. I don’t think teachers get to take the place of parents.’
See his full response:
We speak to PM @ScottMorrisonMP about his views on the au pair case, whether bullying occurred during the leadership spill and a young trans kid shares her story with the PM. #auspol #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/caN3VQiN8z
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 6, 2018
Scott Morrison also recently said LGBTI conversion therapy is ‘not an issue’ for him.
When asked about a nationwide ban on conversion therapy, Morrison responded: ‘People should make their own choices about their lives’.
He continued: ‘I respect people of all sexualities, I respect people of all religions, all faiths. I love all Australians.’
‘I’ve never been involved in anything like that, I’ve never supported anything like that, it’s just not an issue for me and I’m not planning to get engaged in the issue,’ he said.
See also:
LGBTI activists in Australia call on Prime Minister to meet transgender people
Rights groups slam Australia for denying Chelsea Manning a visa
Australian PM Scott Morrison thinks gay conversion therapy is ‘not an issue’ for him
