An Albury religious leader has called upon Farrer MP Sussan Ley to call out Prime Minister Scott Morrison for what he describes "prejudicial views" against transgender Australians.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Father Peter MacLeod-Miller, of St Matthew's Anglican Church, claimed Mr Morrison had targeted diversity in the early stages of his election campaign.
Mr Morrison has come under fire in recent days after he showed support for Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves after transphobic comments as she sought to ban trans women from female sport.
"Before the election, as we face the ballot box, we need to know what sort of Australia we're buying into," Father MacLeod Miller said.
"I wrote to Sussan Ley saying 'we need you to make a statement' because we need to know if we put her name into the ballot box are we signing our Australian values away?
"When Mr Morrison was here a couple of years ago, I heard him say 'we are governing for all Australians' and I said to him at the time 'that sounds great, but do you mean all transgender Australians? Do you mean all disabled Australians? And do you mean all Indigenous Australians?
IN OTHER NEWS:
"I think he can't see a problem and inconsistency he can't see a problem until the media points it out to him.
"So I think it's really important for someone like Sussan Ley to stand up and basically call that out and say 'in voting for me, we will not be fostering those prejudices at all'.
"More important than his leadership is the lives of locals."
Ms Ley told The Border Mail she responded to Father MacLeod-Miller's letter by asking him to put her in touch with any groups, advocates or individuals who wished to meet on this issue.
"I have met with several trans constituents over the years and remain happy to do so: my door is always open," she said.
"Albury is an incredibly open, inclusive and supportive community and I share their view, which is to stand against discrimination in any form."
"We have people who are transgender in our congregation and I think that we're not talking about people who are theoretical, this is definitely something that we're facing, which is a real threat to real people," he added.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News