A new transgender flag will fly in front of Melbourne’s Treasury Place alongside two LGBT+ pride flags until the end of the month.
The Victorian state Labor government made the decision following a rally arguing against transgender people entering women’s sports and spaces.
State Premier Daniel Andrews wrote on Twitter, “Because we‘ll always respect you. And we’ll always have your back.”
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said flying the flag was in response to the “unprecedented attack on trans-Victorians.”
“We are talking about a rally—protest—that was designed to tell trans people that they did not deserve to exist,” Thomas told reporters on March 22.
“We will stand beside trans-Victorians, against hate speech [and] against the disgusting behaviours that we saw on the weekend,” she added.
“There was so much wrong with what we saw on the weekend, even before the Nazis turned up.”
Women’s Rights Rally Sidelined By LGBT+, Neo-Nazi Protests
The rally on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House was attended by women’s rights advocates Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (also known as Posie Parker), Katherine Deves, and Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming.They were confronted by hundreds of LGBT+ activists and supporters of socialism, who were cordoned off by police on the other side of the street—although some managed to break through the buffer zone to disrupt the rally.
In the middle of all this, a small group of men walked into the buffer zone, dressed in black, while performing the Nazi salute.
After the incident, MP Deeming took to social media to express disappointment with Victoria Police for letting the masked men through.
“Police managed to stop hordes of (trans rights activists) but somehow could only walk masked men past us (as) they did a horrible Nazi salute,” she wrote on Twitter.
The actions of the men drew national media attention, however, effectively side-lining concerns over transgenders entering women’s spaces.
The Australian Jewish Association did speak out in support of the rights rally while criticising the police’s actions.
Transgenderism Takes Centre Stage in Neighbouring State
Days later in Sydney, the issue of transgenderism again reared its head, this time amid the state’s election campaign.Clashes erupted between rival protest groups after LGBT+ activists blocked a church venue where One Nation’s New South Wales leader Mark Latham was to deliver an allegedly “anti-trans” speech.
Around 15 LGBT+ protestors, organised by the Community Action for Rainbow Rights, waited outside St. Michael’s Church Belfield in Sydney’s multicultural western region on the evening of March 21.
Soon hundreds of individuals confronted the group, which also allegedly included members of the Christian Lives Matter movement, resulting in scuffles and two individuals being arrested.
One Nation’s Latham condemned the violence but also said what the LGBT+ protestors did was wrong.
“They were going to block [the entrance] and deny access to the front entry to the church,” Latham told 2GB radio, saying police told his assistant to park around the back instead.
“I was greeted by mainly mothers and grandmothers who wanted to hear about school education, parental rights, and all the issues I’ve been raising during the election campaign,” he said.
Latham has been a vocal critic of the state’s education system, exposing young students to issues like gender fluidity and transgenderism.
The latest incidents come following revelations a transgender player would participate in the women’s NBL1 South league.
“This athlete in question has already played the game. From what I understand, a friendly game against a team that had no idea it was going forward. They asked some questions, apparently before the game [and] the game still went ahead—kind of like, ‘Too bad, deal with it.'”
