One Nation senator Tyron Whitten has claimed parents supporting their children who identify as transgender are engaging in “child abuse”, telling a fringe YouTube show: “there’s male, there’s female, and then there’s mental illness”.
Guardian Australia has unearthed several incendiary comments from Whitten and fellow One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and her longtime lieutenant Malcolm Roberts, about transgender Australians.
“They’re saying you can cut your dick off and become a woman … That’s a complete distortion of science,” Roberts told a podcast in June.
Whitten filmed an interview at Parliament House in August ۲۰۲۵ with a YouTube page called “Billboard Battalion”. The host recounts overhearing a Parliament House attendant escorting a group of schoolchildren.
“She turned around and said to me ‘thanks very much for your patience’, and I said, ‘thanks very much for calling them boys and girls’… when I was a young bloke, I never ever thought that would be a thing,” the host said.
Whitten responded: “Neither did I. Look, there’s male, there’s female, and then there’s mental illness.”
“If you want to wear a dress, that’s fine. I don’t care. But they can’t keep saying ‘hey kids, that’s normal.’ Well, no, it’s not.
“You’re going to be a boy or you’re going to be a girl. And parents that are promoting this, I think that’s child abuse.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission cites statistics that “around ۲-۳% of young Australians aged ۱۱ to ۱۸ years identify as transgender or gender diverse.”
Referencing research from youth advocacy group Minus۱۸, the AHRC said “۹ in ۱۰ LGBTQIA+ young people said they had faced bullying or violence because of who they are, leaving many feeling isolated and unsupported.”
The offices of Whitten, Hanson and One Nation’s head office were contacted for response but did not respond to inquiries.
Roberts, whose previous comments on fringe podcasts about immigration and conspiracy theories have drawn controversy, in June was dismissive of transgender Australians in a YouTube interview.
Discussing problems he saw in Australia, Roberts said: “If you cut off your dick … you’re not a woman. [But] that’s now ingrained in law in Australia that you are.
“Not as crudely as that, but it just says that if you want to identify as a male, if you want to identify as a female and you’re a male, that’s your choice.”
In a March ۲۰۲۴ interview with former television host and AFL identity Sam Newman, Hanson – listing a number of her political concerns – mentioned “this transgender crap that’s going on, it frustrates me.”
“We’re allowing children under the age of ۱۸ to have lifechanging operations that destroy their lives, ending up like vegetables, just destroyed, locked away in their bedrooms.”
However, the AHRC advises: “It is not legal in Australia to perform most gender-affirming surgeries on people under ۱۸ years in the public health system.
“The only surgery allowed is breast reduction surgery for trans men, and only in very extreme circumstances,” it said in a fact sheet on transgender issues.
Parental consent and professional assessment is generally required for children to receive gender-affirming care, including hormone treatment or “puberty blockers”. Otherwise, a court order is required.
Equality Australia CEO, Anna Brown, said Australian law had “recognised trans people and their rights for decades.”
“Targeting one of Australia’s smallest and most marginalised communities isn’t just unfair, it fuels division, creates confusion and causes real harm. Trans people make up less than ۱% of the population, yet they are being forced to carry the weight of a divisive and incredibly cruel culture war,” she said.
“This is a community that already experiences disproportionately high rates of discrimination, violence and exclusion. It’s clear some politicians are taking advantage of a lack of familiarity with trans people to manufacture fear and division, because turning minorities into political targets is an easy way to generate attention and relevance.”
The ABC reported on Wednesday the comments of Parminder Singh, who was third on One Nation’s ticket for the legislative council at the ۲۰۲۵ WA state election. Asked in a YouTube interview whether he thought people were born gay, Singh replied: “No, it’s a mental illness”.
Hanson on Thursday distanced herself from his comments, saying: “He’s not standing for One Nation … they’re not my views.”
Barnaby Joyce said on Wednesday, speaking to the ABC: “I don’t concur with [Singh’s] views.” He also defended One Nation’s record on LGBTI issues, saying: “I think you should get [One Nation party director] James Ashby on the show and ask him, he’s gay.”
“I think we’re one of the gayest parties in Australia,” he added.
