National MPs accept petition targeting trans women in sport
Save Women’s Sports Australasia gathered 5311 signatures for the petition.
A petition from an organisation which calls for trans women to be excluded from women’s sport has been presented to Parliament and accepted by National Party MPs.
The petition, from Save Women’s Sports Australasia, calls for more consultation on a draft set of principles produced by Sport New Zealand.
The Green Party says the petition is an attempt to scaremonger about elite sports, when the draft guidelines cover only community-level sport.
The principles, obtained by Stuff, are explicitly scoped to cover community sport, with the body noting that elite level sports are guided by international codes set outside of New Zealand. The principles emphasise inclusion, stating ‘‘transgender players have the right to play in the gender that they identify with’’.
Save Women’s Sports Australasia gathered 5311 signatures for the petition, calling for wider consultation on the guidelines and saying Sport NZ was focused on inclusion despite the ramifications for ‘‘female athletes’’ that deserved a ‘‘fair and safe competition and safe spaces away from male bodies’’.
While the petition only calls for wider consultation, the group has argued trans women should be treated as men for sports with gendered competitions.
The group also organised an open letter from several prominent Olympians arguing for more consultation.
The group’s New Zealand spokeswoman, Ro Edge, said she was concerned Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson was prioritising ‘‘inclusion over all else’’.
‘‘We believe ... Kiwis do want a say in this process, and maybe what Sport NZ has proposed is not right for New Zealand.’’
Green Party rainbow spokeswoman Elizabeth Kerekere said the group was attempting to create a ‘‘story from nothing’’ by conflating community-level sport with elite level codes. ‘‘The actual work that is happening in this country is very much focused on schools and local clubs, that is just making sure people who want to participate can participate.
‘‘So many of our trans nonbinary and intersex young people have so few places to go to, and they are excluded from something which is a normal experience for any child growing up in this country,’’ Kerekere said.
‘‘When you start conflating it