The political climate in Australia is one of constant change, and that can make it particularly difficult for Christians to keep up. It is very important to hold our government accountable, especially when it comes to how taxpayer money is spent.
One such issue that the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) have been examining, is the use of taxpayer funds to support the transgender lobby. ACL Managing Director, Martyn Iles, recently joined us on 20Twenty to share some context around the problem, and why he thinks Christians should be concerned.
Misuse of Tax Payer Dollars
‘The latest news,’ says Martyn, ‘is that the federal government is going to allocate 13 million dollars of taxpayer money towards the development of workplace policies to affirm the trans movement. This will be for things like replacing words birthing mother to birthing parent, and having gender neutral bathrooms.’
The figure is huge. In fact, it’s actually larger than the current ASIO budget. But unfortunately, this is they type of thing that governments do when their money is feeding the trans juggernaut. Even when people are sued by activists for using the wrong pronouns, they’re backed by government funded legal centres.
‘The laws are being enforced by government-funded human rights bodies,’ says Martyn. ‘But a lot of money is also going into the education system to ensure the trans affirmative approach is being taught in schools. The problem with this is, that we know it’s wrong. It’s not good for children, and it’s causing lifelong regret.’
Unsafe Treatments
The story of the Tavistock Gender Clinic in the UK has become well-known recently, after a young woman sued them for giving her hormones and puberty blockers when she was a teen to help her become a man. She claims she was counselled wrongly, and the clinic’s practices were made public.
‘The practices are the same at gender clinics in Australia,’ says Martyn. ‘They put young people at considerable risk of poor mental health, and this treatment is not safe or viable long term. The Tavistock Clinic was charged with inadequately assessing patients, rushing medicalisation and failing to safeguard children.’
The court’s decision is a step away from the gender-affirming approach. Which is to say that a child should be able to get hard medicines with scary side effects based on how they feel inside. As a result, we have failed a whole generation of children, and the government has funded it every step of the way.
Legal Ramifications
‘But here in Australia, we are sometimes a bit slower to recognise what is happening overseas,’ says Martyn. ‘We are calling on the Federal Government to stop funding this madness. There are already rumbles of legal cases starting here.’
In Australia, the number of kids who want to change their gender is going up by thousands of percentage points. To keep up with demand, the clinics are expanding. Children are coming in saying, “I’m not a boy, I’m a girl” or vice versa, because they’re hearing it all the time at school or online.
‘The whole idea gets established in their mind before they’re eighteen,’ says Martyn. ‘An age at which they can’t even get a tattoo. In the name of political correctness, the government has been pushing this and funding it every step of the way. Those of us who have been trying to speak out have been cancelled off social media, attacked, undermined and called haters.’
Prayer is Vital
Martyn believes that this is one of the greatest medical scandals we have seen in recent decades. It’s not until later in life that these young people realise they have been given irreversible therapies and treatments, when what they actually had was a psychological issue.
‘I would say the government would be well-served in changing course before all of this comes to the surface,’ says Martyn. ‘It’s worth praying about this because this is one of the most serious attacks on children. If the legal ramifications can be used to reverse course, I think that would be a tremendous and wonderful thing.’
This article was inspired by Martyn Iles.
Listen to Martyn’s full interview on 20Twenty below, or for more resources to bring hope and restoration visit our Vision Store.
