Sarah Lovell and Eric Abetz spar over what the election result means for Dean Winter's leadership of the Labor party
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Greens co-founder expelled from party after ‘trans and queer cult' claim
The co-founder of the Australian Greens has been officially expelled from the party after warning the party has been taken over by a 'trans and queer cult' that is attacking free speech. Drew Hutton's life membership of the Greens was terminated by delegates of the state branches on Sunday, with party officials releasing a statement insisting that 'trans rights are non-negotiable human rights.' But the 78 year old has hit back warning the Greens have been taken over by an intolerant cult. 'The fact is that the Greens in a number of states have been taken over by a cult,'' he said. 'A transgender and queer cult – that has come to control key decision-making positions in the party, such as disciplinary and preselection committees and administrative positions, that give them enormous power, and they use this to influence preselections and expel those who disagree with them,'' he said. 'They have abandoned the historic mission I believed they had when I founded the party, a mission to help bring about an ecologically sustainable world.' The long-running saga that led to the termination of Mr Hutton's membership began in June 2022 when he took to Facebook to discuss moves in Victoria and New South Wales to expel members over 'transphobic' comments. After an internal complaint against him, the Greens governing body found that Mr Hutton had not personally demeaned trans women, he had provided a platform. As a result, the party suspended his membership until he deleted a Facebook post criticising the Greens and removed the offending comments made by others. His original Facebook post, on June 21, 2022, spoke of balancing trans rights with the rights of women. The post read: 'I believe in full human rights for trans people at the same time as supporting the right of women to be safe from patriarchal oppression.' He then condemned 'authoritarian and anti-democratic' disciplinary action that had been taken against feminists for voicing their concerns within party forums. 'I'm a retired, old, burnt-out greenie activist, and I hadn't been keeping up with all this stuff. I just responded to what I thought was a really stupid situation and an abuse of power by some people,'' he told The Saturday Paper. Mr Hutton said he did not intend to 'say anything about the transgender issues themselves' but was 'concerned about party democracy and the need for discussion and debate in the Greens that is both open-minded and respectful of other views'. 'Like many other party members, I have become a victim of this cult,'' he wrote in The Australian. 'I was expelled from the party, not because I made statements that opposed key beliefs of the Greens but because I refused to censor comments on a couple of Facebook posts that asserted that men were biological males and women were biological females. 'The cult position is that people are whatever gender they define themselves as and anyone who disagrees with that position must be expelled or, if they are not party members, they should be otherwise cancelled. I was, therefore, told I had to censor all such comments from my Facebook posts. I refused on free speech grounds and so my membership was suspended, and then I was expelled when I continued to refuse. 'I join at least 40 other members that I know of who have been expelled or forced out of the party over the gender issue. Many of those expelled have been great environmental campaigners with decades of loyal service to the party. It is a purge of 'green' Greens. 'People in the community are beginning to sense that something is not right in the Greens, and the party will need to work hard to calm this disquiet. The first thing the Greens need to do is analyse where their vote comes from.' Mr Hutton said the marriage equality referendum demonstrated that Australians are 'open, tolerant and inclusive.' 'They did not, at any point, vote for the rights of children and women to be overridden,'' he said. 'How can the Greens avoid the same sort of demise that befell the Australian Democrats? It will be very difficult. The extreme transgender/queer faction is well entrenched in the key decision-making centres of the party and those Greens who maintain a more traditional view of what green politics is all about are ignoring this and getting on with what they do in their local areas or they are keeping their heads down so they don't become another victim of the purges.' Mr Hutton said Greens leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne supported his push for free speech to be restored. 'Leadership is needed. Both Bob Brown and Christine Milne, the two former great leaders of the Australian Greens, had the character and courage to tackle the issue head-on,'' he said. 'I believe they would have demanded an end to the purges and an inquiry into how the party could better implement the green politics principle of democracy in its processes,'' he said. 'The question is: Does the current Australian Greens leader, Larissa Waters, have the same character and courage to get the Greens out of this mess?.' In March, 2025, Mr Hutton spoke to the several media outlets about the dispute and published more posts on Facebook that criticised what 'trans extremists' in the Greens. In the wake of these comments, Mr Hutton's membership in the Greens was terminated amid claims his Facebook posts breached the Queensland Greens code of ethics. 'Throughout this process the former member has refused to engage fairly with the party, sought and expected special treatment and used the media to prosecute his case,' Greens convener Gemma Burden said. 'No member is above the need to treat others with respect, and seeking to weaponise internal processes to pursue personal grievances does not advance the Queensland Greens' work on environmental, climate, economic and social justice.' Greens leader Larissa Waters backed the expulsion stating that 'trans rights are human rights' and insisting the move was backed by the membership. 'Greens members have been working hard to resolve this matter through the party's governance processes, and to ensure that the party's important work on environmental, climate, economic, and social justice doesn't stop because of one man's focus on how other people identify,' she said in a statement.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Pro-Palestine protesters gather at Parliament House as pollies return
A crowd protesting the killing of children in Gaza has gathered outside Parliament House as MPs and senators return for the first sitting fortnight since the federal election. The protesters are holding what appear to be shrouded baby dolls as they wave Palestinian flags and placards calling on the Albanese government to 'sanction Israel now'. '28 children killed daily in Gaza,' another placard read. The demonstration is at the back entrance to Parliament House, where Anthony Albanese and his son, Nathan, had walked up just a day earlier. The Prime Minister will also need to pass them on his way in to open parliament. Tuesday's protest comes after Australia joined 25 other countries in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, lashing Israel for 'the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians'. Foreign journalists are not allowed into the war-torn Palestinian territory, leaving media to rely on death toll figures put out by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. According to figures from the ministry, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month conflict – a count that stacks up with independent monitors and international aid workers, who have said children are suffering the most. In a joint statement issued overnight, Australia stood with the likes of Canada, New Zealand and the UK demanding that 'the war in Gaza must end now'. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,' the statement said. 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. 'We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. 'It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.' The countries went on to say Israel's 'denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable'. 'Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,' the statement said. The Israeli government, which launched its campaign in Gaza following Hamas' brutal October 7 terrorist attack in 2023, has rejected the statement, calling it 'disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas'. 'All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,' the Israeli foreign ministry. 'Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. 'At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid.' Hamas militants killed more than 1200 people in the October 7 assault and took hundreds more hostage, including children. It was the single worst mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust. Many hostages have been released and rescued, while others have died in Hamas' hands. At least 50 remain in captivity. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar took aim at the countries that issued the statement, saying the fact Hamas embraced their words 'is the best proof' they made a mistake. 'If Hamas embraces you – you are in the wrong place,' he posted on social media. 'Hamas's praise for the statement by the group of countries is the best proof of the mistake they made – part of them out of good intentions and part of them out of an obsession against Israel. 'We are at a very sensitive moment in the negotiations for the release of hostages and a ceasefire.'
SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Anthony Albanese warns rivals ahead of Parliament's return
TRANSCRIPT Anthony Albanese warns rivals ahead of Parliament's return At least 19 people killed in Bangladeshi air force plane crash Mitch Owen blasts fifty as Aussies down Windies in T-20 opener Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued a warning to his political opponents ahead of Parliament's first sitting day today. After the federal election, Labor's ranks in the new House of Representatives will be double that of the Coalition in the new Parliament. Mr Albanese says he wants this large mandate to be respected by the Coalition and The Greens. "The holding up of legislation, like our housing legislation last time, I think hurt the no-alition. What I want to see is a positive agenda going forward but we'll see how we go." Opposition leader Sussan Ley says it's their duty to represent their voters and to scrutinise Labor's policies. "Now Mr Albanese is giving interviews and he's suggesting we should just get out of the way, well we won't get out of the way. Our job is to be the strongest, best opposition that we can be and we will be." Meanwhile, Greens Senator Nick McKim tells Channel Nine his party is there to hold Labor to account for the promises they've made to Australians and work constructively on legislation. "Well, we're here to work constructively and cooperatively with Labor. We hope that they would take the same approach to us. The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the government to establish an Australian Human Rights Act to protect against what they see as a crackdown on civil liberties. They've joined more than 150 organisations in warning the United Nations Human Rights Council about an increasing threat to fundamental rights in Australia, ahead of a major UN review. The coalition includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, legal, disability, refugee, LGBTIQ+ and climate groups. Caitlin Reiger, CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre says a Human Rights Act must be introduced, to enshrine clear minimum human rights protections that must be considered by governments when designing policies and delivering services. "We are ready, the time is now, and this is just about codifying our basic shared values of equality, dignity, and fairness for everyone, and putting that into the heart of all of our laws so that all public decision making is really putting people and planet, in terms of the right to a healthy environment being an important human rights issue as we see the climate crisis really impact Australia. That's an immediate first step. " There's been several inquiries and consultations into establishing a Human Rights Act and last year the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights recommended its introduction after an inquiry. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in Northern Territory police custody says his community won't feel safe in public until they get justice. The death of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White in Alice Springs in May sparked vigils around the country, putting deaths in custody back into the national spotlight. His grandfather, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves spoke to SBS' Indigenous current affairs program, Living Black. "We want the Prime Minister to say something, to stop this madness. We cannot live like this in our own country." Two weeks ago, Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage found the former police officer who fatally shot 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 in a remote community of Yuendumu, was racist. At least 19 people have been killed and more than 160 others injured after a Bangladeshi air force plane crashed into a college campus. A training aircraft belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force crashed in the capital, Dhaka. It's understood students were taking exams and attending regular classes at the time. Dozens of those injured have been taken to nearby hospitals. According to military officials, the jet took off but crashed soon after, before it caught fire. Bangladesh's leader, Muhammad Younis says support will be provide to determine the cause of the incident. In cricket, Australian T-20 debutant Mitch Owen has joined rare company by cracking a game-breaking half-century in a three-wicket triumph over the West Indies. In reply to the West Indies' 8-189, Australia reached 7-190 to win game one of the five-match series in Jamaica with seven balls to spare. Owen smacked six sixes in his stunning 50 from 27 balls, joining Ricky Ponting and David Warner as the only Australians to make a half-century on his T-20 international debut. Captain Mitch Marsh says it's great to see such an impressive performance from the debutant. "Fantastic. I think any time you get a young kid that comes in and performs like that for his first game for Australia it's always really exciting. I'm sure there will have been lots of people who would have watched that and will be really excited. So we're pumped for him. We want him to come in here and be as relaxed as possible. We understand he's going to be nervous playing for Australia but we want to create an environment where he can hopefully keep doing that for us." The series continues on Wednesday in Kingston before three games in St Kitts over the weekend and next Tuesday.
