On Thursday 31 March the Northern Territory Parliament discussed the NT Gender Equality Plan 2022-2025. The Statement of Commitment which accompanied the Plan referred to the Women in Sport Committee, which “was established in 2017 to raise the profile of Northern Territory women in sport and promote gender equality in sport and recreation.”
A glaring omission was that neither the Plan nor the Commitment said anything about protecting women’s sport from the intrusion of biological men into women’s sport, under the current sociological phenomenon where biological men can claim to be women and so take part in women’s sport.
The issue of biological males in women’s sport is both a threat to the chances of women achieving success in sport, and in many sports is likely to present an actual danger to the health and safety of girls and women.
Tragically, the Plan acknowledged that “the Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia, and it disproportionately impacts Aboriginal women and girls.” This shocking record must not be added to by exposing girls and women to competition with biological males who are generally faster and stronger.
On your behalf I have called on the NT Parliament to enact a bill similar to the “Save Women’s Sport” Bill being promoted by Tasmanian Senator Claire Chandler. It would be very helpful for Territorians to write to the Hon Lauren Moss the NT Minister for Women and ask her to do this. Her address is:
Parliament House, Darwin NT 0800 GPO Box 3146, Darwin NT 0801
Alternatively you can ring her office at Parliament House on (08) 8936 5532 or at Casuarina on (08) 8999 6343. It is important that she hears from you!
