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Pyrophore: Australian Labor Party

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The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It is socially and economically centrist, and is traditionally understood as Australia’s leading liberal party.

Timeline

2004, August 16. The Marriage Amendment Act 2004 (Cth) takes effect. The Act amends the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) to forbid same-gender marriage in Australia and to prohibit the recognition of same-gender marriages conducted abroad.

Federal Labor allows the legislation to pass unhindered.

2022, February 10. The Australian House of Representatives passes the Religious Discrimination Bill 2022 (Cth).

In the form passed, the Bill will allow religious schools to discriminate against transgender pupils. Prior to the vote, the federal Labor caucus agrees to vote in favour of the Bill in that form.1

2022, March 22. The Daily Telegraph publishes an article, “Federal election 2022: Anthony Albanese to change Labor’s class war rhetoric,” by Joe Hildebrand (2022). The article is an interview with Anthony Albanese MP (ALP–Grayndler, NSW), the leader of the federal Labor Party, in the context of the then-ongoing 2022 federal election campaign.

During the interview, Hildebrand asks Albanese “Can men have babies?”. Albanese responds, “No”.2

2022, April 3. The Nine Network’s Weekend Today carries an interview between Nine political editor Chris Uhlmann and Labor leader Anthony Albanese. The interview runs, in part, as follows:

UHLMANN: You have a lifetime in the Labor Party’s Left. The Government says that you would be the most left-wing Prime Minister that we have had. Let’s just have a look at one of the issues that seems to energise the left at the moment: identity politics. What’s your view on this constant recourse to cancelling people who have a different view from those in the left of your party?

ALBANESE: Well, what we need to do is respect every individual for who they are, and not engage in that sort of, ah, cancel culture. It doesn’t move things forward, it just divides society, and one of the things I’m—

UHLMANN: So I should be allowed to say “pregnant women” rather than “pregnant people” and not get cancelled.

ALBANESE: Of course you should. Of course you should.

UHLMANN: And should we be allowed to say things like “men can’t have babies”?

ALBANESE: Of course. And my view is very clear: that Labor has to represent mainstream Australia.3

2022, July. Under virtually no pressure,4 Bill Shorten MP (ALP–Maribyrnong, Vic.), the federal Minister for Government Services, intervenes to end a pilot program under which several hospitals were using forms that used trans-inclusive language, specifically by referring to children’s “birthing parent”.5

2023, August 17–19. The 49th ALP National Conference is held in Brisbane. Conference adopts the 2023 ALP National Platform. Relative to the 2021 Platform, the 2023 document:

  • deletes a previous statement “acknowledg[ing] the needs and rights of transgender and gender diverse people to fair, equal and affordable access to health care services” such as “vital specialist health services and gender-affirming medical technologies”, and a commitment to “removing, wherever possible, barriers to accessing these services”6;
    • replaces it with a generic statement of “support[…]” for “queer, transgender and gender diverse Australians” and a commitment to “work to support their agency in health decisions” and “provide access to the vital health and support services LGBTIQ+ Australians need”,7 omitting any reference to making trans healthcare more affordable;8
  • deletes a previous commitment to legislate against discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics”9;
    • replaces it with a generic commitment to “develop policy that meets the specific needs of the community to ensure equality”.10

2026, May 19. At a press conference, Chris Minns MLA (ALP–Kogarah), the Premier of New South Wales, makes a number of transphobic remarks. As reported by The Daily Telegraph,11 these remarks include that:

  • NSW must recognise the “biological [differences] between people who were born male and people who were born female,” and “That needs to be reflected in the law”;
  • “If you’re born biologically male and you change your government certificates to be female, it will not mean that you can change from a male prison to a female prison”.

Footnotes

  1. Karp (“Labor to pass religious discrimination bill,” 2022). ↩︎
  2. Francis (2022). ↩︎
  3. The Today Show (2022). ↩︎
  4. Withers (2022). ↩︎
  5. Karp (“Bill Shorten intervenes,” 2022). ↩︎
  6. Australian Labor Party (2021), p 140. ↩︎
  7. Australian Labor Party (2023), ch 4, cl 22. ↩︎
  8. Lawrie (2023). ↩︎
  9. Australian Labor Party (2021), ch 5, cl 31(b). ↩︎
  10. Australian Labor Party (2023), ch 5, cl 27. ↩︎
  11. Morrow & O’Doherty (2026). ↩︎

References

Australian Labor Party (2021, March). ALP national platform: as adopted at the 2021 Special Platform Conference. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Australian Labor Party (2023, August 19). Australian Labor Party national platform: as determined by the 49th National Conference. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Francis, C. (2022, March 25). Anthony Albanese cops backlash after saying men can’t have babies. news.com.au (News Corporation). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Hildebrand, J. (2022, March 22). Federal election 2022: Anthony Albanese to change Labor’s class war rhetoric. The Daily Telegraph (News Corporation). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Karp, P. (2022, February 9). Labor to pass religious discrimination bill in House if amendments unsuccessful. Guardian Australia (The Scott Trust). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Karp, P. (2022, July 21). Bill Shorten intervenes to remove ‘birthing parent’ from medical forms amid criticism in Daily Telegraph. Guardian Australia (The Scott Trust). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Lawrie, A. (2023, May 31). The ALP has cut back on LGBTIQ policy commitments in its party platform. Again. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Morrow, J., & O’Doherty, J. (2026, May 19). What’s a woman? Minister for Women Jodie Harrison just can’t say. The Daily Telegraph (News Corporation). Retrieved 20 May 2026.

Religious Discrimination Bill 2022 (Cth).

The Today Show [@TheTodayShow] (2022, April 3). PART 2: In the lead up to the 2022 Federal Election, Nine’s Political Editor Chris Uhlmann is speaking with Opposition … [Tweet]. Nine Entertainment Company; Twitter (X Corp.). Retrieved 21 May 2026.

Withers, R. (2022, July 22). Culture cowards. The Monthly (Schwartz Media). Retrieved 22 May 2026.

Metadata

  • Version: 2 (21 May 2026).
  • Created: 20 May 2026.