The push to hold the nation’s first parliamentary inquiry into the treatment of young people with gender dysphoria has been killed off after South Australian Labor refused its MPs a conscience vote on the issue. Several members of the more socially conservative South Australian branch of the ALP were ready to support the motion by independent MLC Frank Pangallo for an inquiry amid a major increase in the number of young people transitioning in SA. It is the third time in a year that an inquiry into the issue has been killed off, with the push by Pauline Hanson federally and ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming in Victoria both failing to win parliamentary support. Mr. Pangallo’s push for an inquiry was effectively dead when Premier Peter Malinauskas finally showed his hand on the issue, saying he feared that the inquiry could become a vehicle for “culture wars” arguments. His comments have been labelled “a cop-out” by Mr. Pangallo and proof that Labor remained “beholden to the Hard Left” on the issue.
Mr. Malinauskas said he supported the caucus decision to block a free vote, despite some members of his own party holding concerns about the rigour surrounding the management of transgender cases. “I am not too sure if a parliamentary inquiry that would be highly political in nature and that would only seek to perpetuate the culture wars is the best way to do a proper examination of medical policy,” Mr. Malinauskas said. “These are questions of science in terms of best practice and medicine as distinct from a political forum for people to prosecute the culture wars which I think people know I’m not particularly keen on. “I would much rather any sort of examination of this to be done in a methodical policy-based way based on the science and best available medical advice. “The conscience vote is a really precious tool within the parliamentary Labor Party. “It is used sparingly. I am not aware of a precedent for a conscience vote for an Upper House select committee.” Mr. Pangallo said he had “never seen such a cop-out by a political leader”. “For the Premier to say parliament has no place inquiring into this area is either utterly naive or disingenuous. I suspect the latter,” Mr. Pangallo said.
Source: Compiled by APN from media reports
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