Oz ‘drag queen’ ruling hailed as victory against child sexualisation

It is not ‘hate speech’ to state that drag queens are “dangerous role models” for children, an Australian tribunal has ruled.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) cleared Lyle Shelton of “vilification” over comments he made about a drag queen event for children run by Brisbane City Council.

When Mr Shelton – a former head of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) – spoke out against “Drag Queen Story Time” in 2020, the performers sued him for discrimination.

‘Freedom of speech’

QCAT dismissed complaints by Johnny Valkyrie and Dwayne Hill, that Shelton had “incited hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of” them “on the ground of their sexuality or gender identity”.

Among other comments, Shelton said “Drag queens are not for kids”, alleged that Hill is also a “porn star”, and called Valkyrie “a woman who presents as a man”.

Shelton’s representatives, Human Rights Law Alliance (HRLA), hailed the tribunal’s decision as “an extraordinary victory for freedom of speech” in Australia.

HRLA’s John Steenhof said: “This is not just a victory for Lyle. This is a really good precedent-setting decision for all Christians who want to stand up and speak out against the sexualisation of children.”

Conversion therapy

ACL also welcomed the QCAT ruling, “given the importance of being able to discuss publicly some of the massive issues which gender ideology poses for children, for Australian society, and Christians in particular”.

The Christian lobby group recently expressed freedom of religion concerns over plans in New South Wales (NSW) to ban ‘conversion therapy’.

ACL warned: “These developments are alarming. Those who experience gender incongruence, especially children and young adults, are some of the most vulnerable in our society”.

It explained: “There is a danger that NSW parents could lose the legal right to discuss issues of sex and sexuality with their children under new conversion practices legislation.”