Speaker 1: When this Queensland mum's child was five, she realized her
Speaker 1: daughter was trans.
Speaker 2: The first thing that she wanted to do was to
Speaker 2: start wearing girl's shoes to school. Before she did that,
Speaker 2: I spoke with her about you know that people can
Speaker 2: be really cruel and she was likely to be teased,
Speaker 2: which she was, but she was adamant she was going
Speaker 2: to do it, and she was so happy when she
Speaker 2: did it.
Speaker 1: At first, things went well at school, but then the
Speaker 1: bullying started.
Speaker 2: Within about six months, I moved us out of that
Speaker 2: area back to a completely new area.
Speaker 3: She went to a new school. No one knew who
Speaker 3: she was, no one knew her background, no one knew
Speaker 3: she was trans, and she was just with it and mattered.
Speaker 2: Weeks of that move, I had this kid who was
Speaker 2: singing and happy again, and it was the best thing
Speaker 2: I over did.
Speaker 1: But as her daughter got older, the political landscape changed.
Speaker 2: There's been a really obvious escalation in the commentary and
Speaker 2: the actions directed at the trans community. The stuff in
Speaker 2: America is truly frightening. The first Trump presidency was really awful,
Speaker 2: but it's so much worse now. But what's even scarier
Speaker 2: is that we've seen that go from America to We've
Speaker 2: seen it happen in the UK, and we've seen it
Speaker 2: happening in Australia.
Speaker 1: So when the Queensland government banned puberty blockers earlier this year,
Speaker 1: she decided to take them to court. I'm Ruby Jones,
Speaker 1: and you're listening to seven AM today one mum on
Speaker 1: her fight to get access to medical care for her
Speaker 1: daughter and all trans children. It's Tuesday, November four So
Speaker 1: I am not going to use your name, and that's
Speaker 1: to protect your daughter's identity. But I thought to begin with,
Speaker 1: can you tell me about your daughter and the medical
Speaker 1: support that you got for her as she transitioned.
Speaker 2: We were lucky that she'd been a patient of the
Speaker 2: gender clinic since she was probably within that first year
Speaker 2: of her identifying as being trans. So we've been with
Speaker 2: the gender clinic now for over six years. So she
Speaker 2: got her diagnosis through the gender clinic and they've been
Speaker 2: monitoring her ever since, periodically a couple of times a year,
Speaker 2: and it's been a long, what I would call very
Speaker 2: measured sort of process. Nothing happens fast. As gender clinic
Speaker 2: we knew she was getting to the stage where puberty
Speaker 2: was likely to be coming up a pediatrician A checked
Speaker 2: and said she wasn't there yet, but then.
Speaker 3: She studied going through some grossports and stuff.
Speaker 2: We were told we really had a fairly short window
Speaker 2: to start her on puberty block, as if that was
Speaker 2: the course we were going to take before those more
Speaker 2: permanent changes would start to happen, might break, she might
Speaker 2: start developing facial hair, and that's what she was terrified about.
Speaker 2: She was terrified of her voice getting deeper. She was terrified,
Speaker 2: as she said, growing at the end, because that would
Speaker 2: out her. Once those changes started to happen, it would
Speaker 2: be so obvious that she was trans And the big
Speaker 2: thing for me was I knew with almost absolute certainty
Speaker 2: that if those changes happened, my chances of ever getting
Speaker 2: her to go to school were almost on existent.
Speaker 3: My chances of getting her to.
Speaker 2: Go out into the community that knew her as a
Speaker 2: girl were almost non existent. And I knew what that
Speaker 2: might mean for her mental health because we've been through
Speaker 2: it before when she had been bullied.
Speaker 3: And tell me a bit about the political landscape at
Speaker 3: this time last year.
Speaker 2: It was in October, I think that the current queens
Speaker 2: and government was elected during the election that now a
Speaker 2: premier basically refused to comment on what the government might
Speaker 2: do in relation to the trans community. But we knew
Speaker 2: from the L ANDP state conferences in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty four, they'd made motions that were accepted
Speaker 2: that they should be banning gender affirming care for children
Speaker 2: and adolescents, including not just in the public system, but
Speaker 2: in the private system as well.
Speaker 1: So in January of this year, which was the same
Speaker 1: day that Donald Trump signed this executive order that threatened
Speaker 1: to criminalize gender affirming care for children, the Queensland government
Speaker 1: followed through on those motions and banned gender affirming care.
Speaker 4: It is the bombshell ban that has left trans teenagers
Speaker 4: in Queensland facing an uncertain future. Now more than one
Speaker 4: hundred experts are making their voices heard calling on this thing.
Speaker 1: How did you feel when you heard that news.
Speaker 3: I was furious.
Speaker 2: I was just absolutely furious with them. Everything that we
Speaker 2: had thought might happen based on them being a very
Speaker 2: conservative government clearly came true. We now know that there
Speaker 2: were something like four hundred and ninety one kids on
Speaker 2: the weight.
Speaker 3: List for the gender clinic. My daughter is not on
Speaker 3: the weight list.
Speaker 2: She was a patient of the clinic, So that means
Speaker 2: that there's more than four hundred and ninety one families
Speaker 2: affected by the ban.
Speaker 3: I asked the Director.
Speaker 2: General for a statement of reasons in relation to his decision,
Speaker 2: and he ignored me and all the parents who are
Speaker 2: for that, and I was forced to take him to
Speaker 2: court to compel him to give me that statement of reasons.
Speaker 3: And when I saw the statement of reasons.
Speaker 2: It was really apparent to me that the decision was
Speaker 2: made by cabinet. He wasn't exercising his decision making powers independently.
Speaker 2: It was also really clear I thought for his statement
Speaker 2: of reasons that he didn't do any proper consultation as
Speaker 2: he was required to do with all the hospitals that
Speaker 2: are affected by the band. So I was determined that
Speaker 2: he should be held accountable and the government should be
Speaker 2: held accountable for that process. And can I say that's
Speaker 2: not a decision that you take widely because I actually
Speaker 2: had to sign a cost agreement when my lawyers felled
Speaker 2: out that if I lost, I might be personally liable
Speaker 2: for the Director General's legal costs, and their estimate was
Speaker 2: one hundred up to one hundred thousand dollars with the
Speaker 2: proviso that it could be more so. That was not
Speaker 2: a decision that anyone takes lightly. But I just felt
Speaker 2: the issue was so important for.
Speaker 3: Our family and for the families.
Speaker 2: Of those other kids affected by the band, that I
Speaker 2: had to do it. The trans community is something like
Speaker 2: one percent of the Israel population.
Speaker 3: And why the hell who about.
Speaker 2: These cabinet ministers that they think that they should make
Speaker 2: medical decisions.
Speaker 3: For my child. I mean, you know what, where's their expertise?
Speaker 3: It's just appalling. I know, my child, my doctors, my
Speaker 3: medical teams be treating my child for a long time.
Speaker 3: We don't need any anybody else's help.
Speaker 1: Coming up the Supreme Court judgment and what comes next.
Speaker 5: The mother of a trans teenager argued the Queensland government's
Speaker 5: freeze on puberty blockers and hormone therapies for new adolescent
Speaker 5: patients was unlawful. Supreme Court Judge Peter Callahan found in
Speaker 5: her favor, setting aside.
Speaker 1: So, I mean a big risk taking legal action like
Speaker 1: this financially and obviously with a really big emotional toll too.
Speaker 1: But you won, you won, we did.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yep?
Speaker 1: How how did that feel?
Speaker 2: Ah? Look to be honest, the judge came back so fast.
Speaker 3: I was expecting it.
Speaker 2: With the judicial review, you only have to win on
Speaker 2: one ground, and on the consultation, I thought it was
Speaker 2: so incredibly clear.
Speaker 3: I think after it was over, I was just.
Speaker 2: More relieved than anything else, and I was just desperately tired.
Speaker 2: I was sending up messages to all the other parents
Speaker 2: that I'm connected with and letting them know, and everyone
Speaker 2: was so elated.
Speaker 3: It was, you know, it was wonderful. But then, as
Speaker 3: you know, things changed.
Speaker 1: So what did the judge ultimately find about how the
Speaker 1: government made the decision to ban puberty blockers?
Speaker 5: Just as Callahan found a twenty two minute online meeting
Speaker 5: with Health Services did not amount to consultation. But in
Speaker 5: his written judgment, just as Callahan said, his findings are
Speaker 5: concerned solely with the legal requirements of the Health Directive,
Speaker 5: not any review of the Directive's merits.
Speaker 2: Well, what we now know from the trial is that
Speaker 2: that entire decision making process from when the Cabinets submission
Speaker 2: was prepared to when the Health Service Tore Debanning Gender
Speaker 2: firmic Care was issued was fifteen days. That's all it was.
Speaker 2: It was done in secrecy. The Cabinet submission wasn't circulated
Speaker 2: around the government for consultation like the normal process. It
Speaker 2: was given only two ministers. And then what we do
Speaker 2: know is that there was not one single person involved
Speaker 2: in preparing the Cabinet submission or in preparing the Health
Speaker 2: Services directive who had any expertise in treating trans young people.
Speaker 2: We also know that they didn't consult anybody with that
Speaker 2: kind of expertise. And I should just mention that's despite
Speaker 2: the faith that there is a multidisciplinary specialist team at
Speaker 2: the gender Clinic literally sitting you know, their offices are
Speaker 2: just across the river from the Office of the Director
Speaker 2: General and the office of the Health Minister and where
Speaker 2: the queens and Cabinet sits. They didn't even bother to
Speaker 2: get any input from the ex ets who are employed
Speaker 2: by the Queensland government.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so just six hours after that court decision came down,
Speaker 1: the Health Minister announced that the government would be reinstating
Speaker 1: the bad.
Speaker 2: Well, I think the six hours was when he actually
Speaker 2: issued his ministryal directive. Hours before that he said he
Speaker 2: was going to give consideration to doing that, so he
Speaker 2: didn't give it very much consideration at all.
Speaker 3: So I went from sending.
Speaker 2: All these messages to all these parents telling them about
Speaker 2: the great outcome we'd achieved, to then having to tell them, hey,
Speaker 2: he's made an announcement that he's likely in a ban
Speaker 2: at to then make, then messaging them and saying he's
Speaker 2: banned it.
Speaker 3: So that was all in the space of six hours.
Speaker 3: It was. It was just awful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And how is that possible, given that the court
Speaker 1: had just found that the government had not properly consulted
Speaker 1: with medical experts, for that to be so quickly disregarded.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, the reality is it's a fresh decision
Speaker 2: under a different section of the Act, and the Act
Speaker 2: doesn't that section of the.
Speaker 3: Act doesn't require consultation.
Speaker 2: Having said that, he says he's made the decision in
Speaker 2: the public interest.
Speaker 6: So the government's concerned to make sure that the services
Speaker 6: that are provided are in the best interests of children,
Speaker 6: and we believe that that is a very strong public interest.
Speaker 6: It's important that the government has an overview of what
Speaker 6: is in the best interests of children in this state.
Speaker 3: I don't think he has.
Speaker 2: I think that his decision is affected by the same
Speaker 2: deficiency that the Director General has in that not one
Speaker 2: person there was not a single person involved in the
Speaker 2: entire decision making process who had any expertise in treating
Speaker 2: trans young people.
Speaker 3: And what that means is that the.
Speaker 2: Information that was in the cabinets submission, the information that
Speaker 2: cabinet relied on to make its decision to ban, was limited, lacking,
Speaker 2: and defective. So, as far as I'm concerned, his decision
Speaker 2: is equally lacking and defective. This is a decision at
Speaker 2: the highest level. It's not the Health.
Speaker 3: Minister, It's being made by the cabinet.
Speaker 2: They're ideologically driven, they're taking queens.
Speaker 3: I'm back to the dark ages as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 1: And tell me about what this has meant for you
Speaker 1: personally and for your daughter during the time that you've
Speaker 1: been fighting this case.
Speaker 2: When I told my daughter about the decision, she was
Speaker 2: really upset because her big thing was I don't want
Speaker 2: to grow a beard. I don't want to have my
Speaker 2: voice break. And I assured her that I would get
Speaker 2: her into the private system. And I've got to tell
Speaker 2: you that's an incredibly expensive process. The Purty blocker is
Speaker 2: alone are seven hundred and thirty nine dollars every three
Speaker 2: months for the needle, and then you have the doctor's costs.
Speaker 2: On top of that, she's had two treatments now. The
Speaker 2: only way I could afford that was with alone from
Speaker 2: my mother, who's a pension So I feel sorry for
Speaker 2: any parent that doesn't have that subward or isn't able
Speaker 2: to fund it. I know from the other parents in
Speaker 2: only contact with how much it's impacted their kids personally.
Speaker 2: I have a friend whose daughter has been suicidal at times,
Speaker 2: and even though she wasn't affected by the band, the
Speaker 2: action that the government took, which she saw is so unfair,
Speaker 2: sent her into a suicidal spiral. Now they're in a
Speaker 2: situation where they have to have eyes on her at
Speaker 2: all times. They've even considered whether they should take the
Speaker 2: bedroom door of the hinges just so that she can't
Speaker 2: barricade herself in there. So anybody that dismisses the potential
Speaker 2: impact on kids' mental health is seriously, seriously wrong.
Speaker 1: And so what do you plan to do now? Because
Speaker 1: the band will continue? Do you plan to continue trying
Speaker 1: to fight it?
Speaker 3: Yep?
Speaker 2: Absolutely, we have to continue the fight and it'll be overturned.
Speaker 2: And I'm actually hoping that if someone does, if someone
Speaker 2: takes him to court, and that might be me if
Speaker 2: someone takes him to court, I'm hoping he'll actually have
Speaker 2: the courage to turn up and give evidence. Because the
Speaker 2: Director General Queens and Health didn't bother to come to court.
Speaker 2: He sent some public servants to tell.
Speaker 3: Us about his decision making process.
Speaker 2: I have been so incredibly lucky that the LGBTI Legal
Speaker 2: Service has acted pro bono for me.
Speaker 3: They are a tiny little legal service and they've done
Speaker 3: it on the witherm oily rag.
Speaker 2: I have been incredibly lucky that three barristers, including a
Speaker 2: King's counsel, have acted for.
Speaker 3: Us pro bono. So I haven't had any costs because
Speaker 3: imagine this is what the government relies on.
Speaker 2: They know how expensive it is to take legal action
Speaker 2: against them.
Speaker 3: You know, it is truly a day versus the life battle.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for speaking to me about
Speaker 1: all of this today.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Also in the news, Optus didn't tell the public that
Speaker 1: its triple zero outage had led to three deaths for
Speaker 1: almost a day after finding out. A Senate inquiry has
Speaker 1: revealed senior leadership also held off on informing the government
Speaker 1: while it held meetings and prepared talking points. The timeline
Speaker 1: presented to the Senate showed OPTIS staff knew about the
Speaker 1: deaths on Thursday night. Executives, including the CEO you by
Speaker 1: Friday morning, for the Communications Minister was not told until
Speaker 1: that afternoon. OPTIS Chief Executive Stephen Rue said he was
Speaker 1: deeply sorry, but blamed the decisions on those below him.
Speaker 1: And Andrew mount Batton windsor formally Prince Andrew, should be
Speaker 1: removed from the line of succession that would allow him
Speaker 1: to become the King of the Commonwealth. According to Independent
Speaker 1: MP Kate Cheney, King Charles's younger brother was stripped of
Speaker 1: his titles last week over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,
Speaker 1: but experts say Australia and other Commonwealth countries would require
Speaker 1: laws to ensure that he doesn't remain an heir to
Speaker 1: the throne. Cheney says Anthony Abernezi should raise the issue
Speaker 1: with the British Prime Minister Kirs Starmer. I'm Ruby Jones.
Speaker 1: This is seven am. Thanks for listening.