Canadian activist 'Billboard Chris' hails ‘tremendous victory' against eSafety Commissioner and the censorious ‘regime of fear' in Australia
Mr Elston described the hearing as a 'total destruction' of Ms Inman Grant's case against him, and claimed all of the eSafety Commissioner's 'so-called experts' were 'basically dismissed'.
The ruling, handed down on Tuesday evening, rescinded a takedown order issued by the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant for a social media post made by Mr Elston in February last year.
Mr Elston's post criticised the World Health Organisation's appointment of Mr Cook to an expert panel to draft policy on caring for transgender people.
In the post, he wrote: 'This woman (yes, she's female) is part of a panel of 20 'experts' hired by the WHO to draft their policy on caring for 'trans people'. People who belong in psychiatric wards are writing the guidelines for people who belong in psychiatric wards.'
The eSafety Commissioner called the post degrading and issued X with the takedown notice in March and threatened a $782,500 fine if the social media giant refused.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday evening, Mr Elston said the Administrative Review Tribunal deputy president Damien O'Donovan had judged Billboard Chris acted in accordance to his convictions.
'(Mr O'Donovan) even quoted my own testimony where I said that because I believe sex is immutable I'm personally convicted,' he said.
Mr Elston said when the deputy president looked at his entire campaign, he saw Billboard Chris had been consistent on this matter.
'My post itself was not about causing serious distress or harm to Teddy Cook. It was about bringing light to a situation where children are being harmed. And we sometimes forget that. This is all about the kids,' he said.
Mr Elston said the tendency across the West, not just Australia, was to 'cancel' people and get them fired to instill a 'regime of fear being pushed by these bureaucrats'.
He said in his case, Ms Inman Grant was an 'unelected bureaucrat' who only censored in 'one direction.'
'I think this is a tremendous victory. We're stacking up some wins against these censors across the globe,' he said.
'This is, I think, the third victory against the e-Safety commissioner. They keep throwing money at this though because they have inexhaustible resources, but we have something they don't have. We have the truth and we're just going to keep spreading it because the truth spreads for free.'
Billboard Chris made headlines after he was approached by a Brisbane City Council in Queen Street Mall while he held a sign stating 'children cannot consent to puberty blockers', who accused him of obstructing people's movement.
The council worker went on to issue Mr Elston with an $806 fine for 'obstructing or unreasonably disturbing any person lawfully using a mall', a claim the activist calmly insisted was untrue.
Mr Elston's sign reflected current Queensland law after the state government issued a directive banning puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for new patients suffering gender dysphoria earlier this year.
Asked if he would come back to Australia following after the recent run-ins, Mr Elston said he would certainly return.
'Not only are they trying to censor me on the digital town square, every physical town square I go into in Australia, they're trying to remove me,' he said.
Mr Elston said he had recently secured victory against Brisbane City Council after he challenged the fine.
'This is how we have to act. We can't just let these censors tell us what to do. I'm having conversations about children who are being harmed,' he said.
'Other people go to that town square, they do whatever they want. They actually obstruct people. I did nothing of the sort. So I think I'm going to sue Brisbane City Council as well now that ticket has been thrown out and I'll probably come back just for that.
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Who will pay a 75 per cent deposit to bring Canadian canola to China? It is like telling Canada that we don't need your canola, thank you very much," one Singapore-based oilseed trader said. China imposed tariffs on canola oil and meal in March. Canada is now in a trade conflict with the world's two largest economies, as it also faces tariffs on goods from the United States. Canada's number one canola market is the US, followed by China. China's Ministry of Commerce said an anti-dumping probe launched in September 2024 had found that Canada's agricultural sector - particularly the canola industry - had benefited from substantial government subsidies and preferential policies. The Canadian government and canola industry have previously rejected allegations of dumping. The industry believes China's complaint is based on other ongoing trade and political disputes, Davison said. A final ruling could result in a different rate, or overturn Tuesday's decision. The decision marks a shift from the conciliatory tone struck in June when China Premier Li Qiang said there were no deep-seated conflicts of interest between the countries during a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "This move ... will put additional pressure on Canada's government to sort through trade frictions with China," said Trivium China agriculture analyst Even Rogers Pay. Canada's trade, agriculture and prime minister's office did not immediately respond to request for comment. Canada has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminium. Separately, China also launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian pea starch and imposed provisional duties on imports of halogenated butyl rubber, according to ministry statements. Replacing millions of tons of Canadian canola is likely to be difficult at short notice, analysts say. China uses imported canola to make animal feed for its aquaculture sector, as well as for cooking oil. The move provides an opportunity for Australia, which looks set to regain access to the Chinese market with test cargoes this year after a years-long freeze in the trade, Pay said. Australia, the second-largest canola exporter, has been shut out of the Chinese market since 2020 due mainly to Chinese rules to stop the spread of fungal plant disease. However, even if Australian imports increase, "fully replacing Canadian canola will be very difficult unless import demand drops sharply," said Donatas Jankauskas, an analyst with commodity data firm CM Navigator. Davison said his industry believes China will need Canada's canola to meet the sort of demand it has experienced in recent years. "I think the expectation would be that they could not meet those needs with a quality of a product and the volume that we provide," Davison said. Canadian farmers are about to begin harvesting canola and will not be happy to see prices plunge, Canadian Canola Growers Association president Rick White said. As long as the prohibitive duty is there farmers face suppressed prices. "It's going to certainly have a damping effect on price for farmers and they're going to be stuck with that," White said. China has announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports in a new escalation in the year-long trade dispute that began with Canada's imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports last August. The provisional rate will be set at 75.8 per cent, effective from Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. Canola Council of Canada president Chris Davison said that rate makes the Chinese market effectively closed for Canadian canola, to which Canada exported about C$5 billion ($A5.60 billion) of the oilseed crop in 2024. 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