The expulsion of Adam Bandt’s Victorian branch of the Greens from the national party is being discussed at the highest level over concerns the party has failed to address transphobia within its ranks, escalating an internal rift which may be driving away members.
The party’s national council, made up of senior members and MPs, has demanded the Victorian arm prove it is taking seriously formal complaints and “perceptions by trans and gender-diverse members that the Victorian Greens pose a serious and ongoing threat to their safety and wellbeing”.
Greens leader Adam Bandt with Victorian colleagues Senators Janet Rice and Lidia Thorpe and candidate Steph Hodgins-May.Credit:Paul Jeffers
Travis Jordan, a Victorian representative on the council, wrote to senior state Greens on Friday claiming the council was “prepared to begin the process of expelling the Victorian Greens” if the branch could not demonstrate it was on top of the issue.
The Victorian Greens have been riven by division, even dumping a convenor, amid an emotional debate over whether party members can raise concerns on trans rights and if they conflict with the rights of biological women in some circumstances. Trans groups argue trans women are women and that making a distinction is discriminatory and harmful.
It is unclear if Jordan’s letter was written with the imprimatur of the council. A spokesperson for Bandt, when asked by The Age about the expulsion threat, said trans rights were non-negotiable and “there is no proposal to expel Victoria from the Australian Greens”.
However, Greens sources said Jordan’s warning reflected the content of a discussion at a December 5 council meeting.
“[Interstate Greens branches] report that a considerable number of members and supporters had reported to them … that perceived inaction on this issue has resulted in these members losing faith in the party and in many cases ending their membership or voting for another party,” said Jordan’s private message, obtained by The Age.
“[They] have also begun accepting membership transfers from Victorian members who feel aggrieved by these processes and are investigating what complaints processes they can initiate on their behalf.”
The letter states the national council is seeking a written statement from the Victorian Greens by December 24 detailing the actions it has taken to “ensure the Victorian Greens is a safe place for trans and gender-diverse people and that the reputation of the Australian Greens as a whole is preserved”.
Greens national co-convenors Willisa Osburn and Matt Roberts said there was no “proposal before the Australian Greens to expel Victoria”.
“At the [national council] meeting, following recent media reports, a number of questions were asked of the Victorian Greens during an informal discussion. It was agreed that it would be helpful for the Victorian Greens to provide a report to national council to respond to some questions and concerns members had,” they said.
If the Victorian branch was to be expelled, the implications for Bandt’s national leadership are muddy. The party’s constitution says an expelled branch would “cease to be a related political party of the Greens”. One party source said expulsion could lead to a situation in which Bandt, a member of the Victorian Greens, continued to lead the party but not as a member of the Australian Greens.
Long-time Greens activist Linda Gale.Credit:Joe Armao
It’s the latest flare-up in a months-long contest over trans rights within the Victorian Greens that has been reflected in NSW. It comes against the backdrop of shifting attitudes about trans rights that have created tensions inside political parties, sporting bodies and universities.
Prominent Greens members, including Melbourne city councillor Rohan Leppert and Linda Gale, have expressed worries about the party’s policies. Gale has raised concerns about the policy implications for the rights of non-trans women in sport, intimate medical procedures, domestic violence shelters, hospital wards and prisons. Her election this year as Victorian Greens convenor was overturned amid a social media-driven backlash.
Pro-trans voices within the Greens say such views are anti-scientific and harmful to trans people, who have poorer mental health on average than the general population.
When asked about Jordan’s internal memo, Gale said she was surprised someone had put in the public arena. “I think these issues should be dealt with internally,” she said.
Multiple Greens sources, speaking anonymously to discuss internal party matters, said the national council’s discussion of expulsion demonstrated a level political naivety within the party. Several Greens members said there was a significant group of rank-and-file members uncomfortable with attempts to censor what they claimed was legitimate policy debate about trans issues.
The message from Jordan said interstate Greens bodies wanted the Victorian Greens to address the impact of the so-called “#TERFsupper” and its impact on morale. TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
The name refers to a dinner at Naughtons Hotel in Parkville, held after a Melbourne University event, hosted by Jon Faine, at which speakers debated the growing use of “benchmarking” as a tool to measure the adequacy of diversity programs designed to reduce discrimination in organisations such as universities and media companies. Gale spoke at the event.
Trans activists entered the pub to take photos of the attendees and uploaded them to a website dedicated to the dinner event saying the diners were part of “Melbourne’s tight-knit network of anti-trans and anti-sex-work operatives”. There was reportedly a confrontation between the groups.
Referring to the October event, Faine wrote in The Age that “eight or nine noisy trans activists tried – but failed — to shut down a forum I was chairing”.
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