Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Raise Our Voice aims to amplify the voices of diverse young people, to make sure they have a political conversation, so that we hear them. Today, I'm reading a speech from Ro, a transgender person from my electorate, who has written about their lived experience. I'll read the speech verbatim:

My name is Ro. I'm 21 years old and I live in the Moreton electorate. I am a proud transgender young person.

We are seeing a rapid escalation of anti-trans hatred from a small but vocal section of Australia. The lack of action on this issue has left me and my transgender peers left behind.

I came out as transgender at the age of 14, and since that time I have been a victim of hate-motivated violence on multiple occasions.

This is a common story amongst transgender youth, with studies showing that around half of all transgender people have experienced anti-trans hate in the last 12 months.

Transgender people deserve to feel safe in our communities. We deserve … a life free from discrimination and prejudice. We deserve to thrive.

To make Australia a safer country for the next generation of transgender youth, I urge the government to take action to protect my community from hate. The epidemic of hate-based violence is an issue that needs to be tackled before it is too late. We need the government to introduce community-led interventions to protect transgender people from abuse, harassment, vilification, and violence. If we work together as a united community, we can make Australia a safe, comfortable, and loving place for transgender people.

That's the end of the speech.

Too many people are quick to punch down on the transgender community. Ro, I'm happy to stand alongside the transgender community and punch back.