Bill Shorten says he intervened in the use of a Medicare form that used gender-neutral language to defuse an “ugly culture war” and called for trans issues to be debated with tolerance.
he’d prefer the issue had never started but that it was the right thing to do to stop it from exploding and being exploited by those who wanted to turn it into a divisive culture war.“There are many people who feel the word ‘mother’ is special and worthy and there are others who feel their identity is not included – each has a legitimate point of view.“However you come to motherhood – it’s precious. It’s not a label, it is imbued with meaning ...
Grover and Shorten did not communicate at any time and Shorten said he was responding to what he thought was a reasonable request from a mother to have an option where mothers can describe themselves as such.“As leaders we have a duty to do the right thing despite the culture warrior tabloids,” he said.“‘Birthing parent’ includes LGBTQ+ people, it does not exclude anyone. I strongly encourage Bill Shorten to consult widely and reconsider this intervention.
Ghassan Kassisieh, Legal Policy Director at Equality Australia, said the existing Medicare form Shorten reverted to “seeks to be inclusive of all parents, regardless of their gender, but also creates problems for other types of parents, including those who have created a family with the assistance of donors or surrogacy”.
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