Conservative Politicians Are Pretending To Care About Women鈥檚 Rights After Giggle v Tickle
In the wake of the landmark Giggle v Tickle appeal decision, conservative politicians from a variety of parties are suddenly desperately trying to convince you they care about women’s rights. Better late than never I guess?
In Giggle v Tickle, the Federal Court unanimously ruled that anti-trans activist Sall Grover and her app Giggle for Girls directly discriminated against transgender woman Roxy Tickle, contravening the Sex Discrimination Act.
Grover and the broader anti-trans movement have long attempted to justify their crusade against trans people as being about protecting “women鈥檚 sex-based rights” and preserving “female-only spaces”, refusing to accept any of the legal rights of trans women to be treated as women.
This has falsely created a ‘trans and LGBTQIA+ rights vs. women’s rights’ narrative. And in the aftermath of the ruling, suddenly the Liberals, One Nation, Nationals, and a smorgasbord of other conservative politicians have sensed a way they can come across as supporting women, without having to do anything which will actually support women 鈥� by vowing to overturn the Sex Discrimination Act. Obviously the Sex Discrimination Act is one of Australia’s strongest anti-discrimination laws to protect women – but because it protects trans women as well, it supposedly must be destroyed.
础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补鈥檚 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is a federal law that makes it unlawful to discriminate against people on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, relationship status, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or family responsibilities. Amendments adding protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status were included in 2013.
But there’s a cynical part of me that wonders if these politicians and parties have embraced their new status as defenders of women only to take advantage of a perceived wedge issue around trans rights. Let’s take a look at their historical stances on women and make up our minds.
Angus Taylor and the Sex Discrimination Act
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor quickly pledged to rewrite the Sex Discrimination Act to enshrine a definition of “biological” sex after the ruling. It should be very obvious that this is opportunistic.
Taylor said rewriting sex discrimination laws to define biological sex as the one assigned at birth would be a 鈥渇irst-term priority鈥� for any Coalition government, and vowed to 鈥減rotect single-sex spaces across Australian life鈥�.
鈥淲e will define biological sex in the Act. Male or female. The sex you are born. And we will protect single-sex spaces across Australian life. This is not radical. It is common sense,鈥澛�
Appealing to women voters is a huge priority for Taylor, with the party’s “boys club” reputation cemented further after he ousted Sussan Ley as opposition leader. Without Ley, just five of the 27 MPs in the Liberal party room will be women. In the Senate, 11 of 23 Liberal senators are female.
The Liberal’s 2022 election review, co-authored by the Liberals鈥� new deputy leader, Jane Hume, found the party had not addressed the concerns of female voters. It recommended a 50% 鈥渢arget鈥� for female candidates and MPs over a binding quota. Angus Taylor has voted against these sorts of quotas. He’s also been
In terms of his own voting record, Angus Taylor voted consistently against , and His record on isn’t fantastic either.
Pauline Hanson and women’s rights
One Nation鈥檚 Pauline Hanson has also confirmed she would to include “biological” definitions of women and men, a platform they have campaigned on since 2025. Hanson also said that the Liberals 鈥渉ave always taken the side of radical trans ideology鈥� and 鈥渃an鈥檛 be trusted to fix it now鈥�. The girls are fightinggggggg!
“Men identifying as women are now invading women鈥檚 private spaces, women鈥檚 organisations and women鈥檚 sports, undermining equality and threatening their very safety,” said One Nation in a press release, after the Giggle v Tickle decision was handed down.
鈥淎ustralian women have been abandoned. Silenced. They鈥檝e been betrayed by politicians who pretend they champion women鈥檚 rights but actively work to undermine them. One Nation will always fight for these basic rights for Australian women, and I鈥檓 proud to have signed the pledge to protect them.鈥�
Sounds familiar.
One Nation is currently having a surge of popularity, and taking anti LGBTQIA+ and anti trans stances have been a big platform for them, following the success of Trump’s similar policies in the US. However placing themselves as a pro-women platform is a… shift.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation identify as 鈥減ro-life鈥� and have supported reducing abortion access, including lowering gestational limits and strengthening doctors鈥� conscientious objection rights.
Hanson has also made about paid parental leave and welfare. In 2017, she argued women could become pregnant in order to receive paid parental leave benefits. The same year, she opposed extending paid parental leave, saying: 鈥淭hey get themselves pregnant鈥�.
One Nation has also opposed some gender equality reforms and has framed parts of the domestic violence and family law systems as 鈥渦nfair to men鈥�.聽 She has also聽聽against making sanitary items GST free.
She has also opposed gender quotas for women in politics, describing them as 鈥渂unkum鈥�.
Parliamentary voting trackers including and Build a Ballot have grouped Hanson among politicians who have voted against, increasing access to subsidised childcare, reducing the gender pay gap, banning pay secrecy clauses, expanding paid parental leave equality, and anti-discrimination protections.
Pauline Hanson faced widespread criticism in 2026 after it emerged One Nation had rehired Sean Black, a former campaign director convicted of rape and assault in 2018. Critics, including former One Nation candidates, domestic violence advocates, and Coalition MPs, argued the decision undermined the party鈥檚 tough-on-crime messaging and showed a lack of regard for violence against women.
Lyle Shelton and women’s rights
Marriage equality loser, Family First director, conservative Christian political activist and former managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby Lyle Shelton has also come out against the Sex Discrimination Act.”The biological definition of woman and man can鈥檛 be properly restored in law until the natural definition of marriage is restored,” he wrote in one of his statements since the decision.
“The Sex Discrimination Act and the Marriage Act are a package deal. Faulty definitions in either result in injustice to women, girls and children,” he writes, incorporating his anti-trans stance in with his anti gay marriage platform.
Shelton has repeatedly described himself and Family First Party as 鈥減ro-life鈥�, opposing abortion expansion and supporting tighter restrictions. In 2025 he wrote that 鈥渁bortion will go the way of slavery鈥� and has campaigned against laws expanding access to medical abortion.
Shelton has also been nd feminist commentators for opposing marriage equality, gender identity protections, and reproductive rights, with opponents arguing his 鈥渢raditional family鈥� campaigning undermines women鈥檚 autonomy and LGBTQ+ equality.
A bridge to sell you
As Star Observer previously reported, Giggle for Girls was supported in their legal fight by US evangelical Christian hate group ADF International.
The ADF is a US-based conservative Christian legal advocacy organisation that campaigns against abortion access and LGBTQ rights, and has supported efforts to restrict reproductive healthcare and overturn Roe v Wade. The organisation has been designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the聽
It should be clear that these Australian politicians do not care about women’s rights, and are using anti-trans hysteria as a way to progress their own conservative aims, such as reducing bodily autonomy and reproductive rights for women.
Likewise, if anyone genuinely believes that conservative parties in Australia are suddenly changing their historical stances on rights and freedoms for women, such as abortion access, anti discrimination, and workplace protections, and not simply joining the anti-trans grift for their own political gain, then I can only admire your fantastical and unwarranted optimism.
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Despite all the lies and misinformation, women remain protected from discrimination under the 鈥渟ex鈥� attribute. That hasn鈥檛 changed. Giggle was twice found to have discriminated against Ms Tickle; indirectly at fist Instance and directly on appeal under the 鈥済ender identity鈥� attribute. The FCAFC followed a line of precedents since 1993 holding Ms Tickle to be female under federal law just as she is also regarded under relevant State law.