Scott Morrison has said he expects his department to remove signage that gives people the choice of bathroom based on their gender identity.
Morrison was asked about the bathroom signage in an interview with Ben Fordham on 2GB this afternoon, after Channel Nine’s political editor, Chris Uhlmann, posted a photo of the sign from the Barton office on Twitter.
The sign on its toilet door said that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet was “committed to staff inclusion and diversity” and invited staff and visitors to “please use the bathroom that best fits your gender identity”.
Morrison said he had spoken with departmental officials about the signage, saying it was “political correctness over the top”.
Meanwhile at the Barton offices of Prime Minister and Cabinet... pic.twitter.com/oVL9f0xrXe
— Chris Uhlmann (@CUhlmann) August 29, 2019
2.49pm: journo tweets pic of a sign saying "use the bathroom that best fits your gender identity"
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) August 29, 2019
4.35pm: PM Scott Morrison gets on the blower to 2GB, says the sign is "not necessary" and will be "sorted out"
this is so cooked. We got nothing bigger to worry about than this? https://t.co/1RBH5D6hoY
How do people who get absolutely furious at gender-neutral bathrooms go to the toilet in their own homes?
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) August 29, 2019
Is this pathetic excuse for a prime minister aware that most of the bathrooms in Parliament House were converted years ago to look like this? https://t.co/zPd4RYwxMH pic.twitter.com/LqvqqLmUit
— Stephen Spencer (@sspencer_63) August 29, 2019
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I don’t think this is necessary – I think people can work out which room to use.
“Honestly, this is why we call it the Canberra bubble.
“I have a very clear view about this and I am sure this will be sorted.”
Asked whether the signs would be removed, Morrison said: “That’s what I expect.”
Morrison has previously criticised gender diversity policies, saying a recent Cricket Australia decision to release a policy that aims to allow transgender and gender-diverse people to play the sport at the highest level and guidelines for community cricket was “heavy-handed” and “mystifying”.
The policy allowed players to compete in line with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were born with.
“I think it’s pretty heavy-handed – to put it pretty mildly,” he said. “There are far more practical ways to handle these issues than these heavy, mandatory ways of doing it, and I’m sure these issues have [been] quite carefully and practically managed at a club level already.
“So why there’s a necessity to get the sledgehammer out on this is mystifying me but I think we need to get the issue in perspective and ensure we manage it calmly.”
