Drew Hutton vows to reform Greens culture after expulsion over trans policy is reversed
The Queensland Greens have been forced to reinstate their founder after their own lawyers found he was denied justice in a bitter dispute over transgender policy.
Australian Greens co-founder Drew Hutton has had his life membership of the party reinstated, with lawyers for its Queensland division urging that his expulsion for questioning transgender policy be treated “as though it never happened”.
The veteran activist immediately ramped up pressure on the Greens to rein in the “transgender and queer cult” he claims to have crossed, demanding the return of dozens of ex-members who were also marched for speaking out.
At least 25 other Greens members in NSW and Victoria are understood to have been shown the door for disputing or criticising the party’s pro-trans stance. Mr Hutton said many more had quit rather than face disciplinary proceedings.
“There have been several dozen members of the Greens expelled from various state Greens parties around the country, basically on the issue of free speech,” he told The Australian.
“They spoke up on an issue of policy and as a result were expelled. Now, I think the legal case that I’ve run demonstrates that’s the wrong way for the Greens to go and all those branches that have expelled people should be issuing an invitation to those expelled members to be reinstated to the party. And they should be apologised to for what they’ve been put through.
The Queensland branch’s capitulation came after its state council – the body that upheld Mr Hutton’s expulsion four months ago – accepted legal advice on Monday that he was repeatedly denied natural justice. The constitution and arbitration committee that took the initial action against him passed a resolution to the same effect on Tuesday.
In a follow-up letter on behalf of the Queensland Greens, law firm Clayton Utz said the committee’s decision to suspend and then terminate Mr Hutton’s membership should be set aside and “treated, as far as possible, as though it was never made”. The state council’s ratification of those findings on July 20 was vacated as well.
“We confirm that Mr Hutton’s membership has now been reinstated to the same status as before the suspension decision,” the letter to his lawyers stated.
Gail Hamilton, 55, a member of 24 years’ standing who had run for council, state and federal parliament in north Queensland before being expelled last year, said the onus was on the Greens to invite her back.
“I would say this decision for Drew looks promising for those many members who have been expelled without due process,” she said. “In my case, it was a kangaroo court … it was definitely a flawed system and I look forward to being invited to rejoin the party.”
Ms Hamilton, an environmental engineer from Townsville, said she was not given an opportunity to defend herself against accusations she was “transphobic” in backing the right of single-sex schools to not enrol trans students and the use of women-centric language such as “mother” over “birth giver”.
Human rights lawyer Anna Kerr, booted by the NSW division in 2022 over a series of alleged breaches relating to trans issues, insisted she first wanted an apology. “I would be pleased to hear from the NSW Greens if they have reconsidered their position and wish to apologise, not only to me personally but also the many individuals harmed by this dangerous ideology,” she said.
Mr Hutton, 78, had instigated legal proceedings against his home branch before the Queensland Greens folded. He too wants an apology, plus reimbursement of his out-of-pocket legal costs.
But now that he is bound again by party rules, he declined to repeat his scathing criticism of the “transgender and queer cult” that allegedly went after him. “I don’t resile from any of the statements I have made, but I’m hoping my re-entry to the party indicates that there has been a change of mind by the party on those issues and that they will start to see things in a new light, especially the need for freedom of speech as an integral part of Greens party culture,” he said on Thursday.
But retired Brisbane lawyer and longtime Greens supporter Richard Carew, who was by Mr Hutton’s side when he unsuccessfully appealed his expulsion to the state council, called for “heads to roll” within the party.
“The Greens’ own constitution requires adherence at all times to procedural fairness, also known as natural justice,” said Mr Carew, 69, who spent nearly four decades practising law before retiring as head of his own firm of solicitors.
“This stipulation was seriously breached on at least four separate occasions,” in relation to Mr Hutton’s case. “Will those responsible be held accountable?
“Heads should roll over the egregious, fundamental breaches of natural justice. The Greens should be leading the way on natural justice, a fundamental human right. Instead they trashed it through the obsessive persecution of Drew Hutton.”
The saga dates back to 2022 when Mr Hutton posted on his private Facebook page decrying “authoritarian and anti-democratic” disciplinary action taken against feminists in the party for challenging the rights of trans people to access women-only spaces such as toilets and changing rooms.
Although he had not been active in the Queensland Greens for more than a decade, Mr Hutton was breached over his refusal to delete comments by others on his posts that were deemed offensive. He maintained it was a question of freedom of speech; the state division held he had provided a platform for transphobic views to be aired, contrary to its code of ethics.
As reported by The Australian, the Greens’ own lawyers sank the case earlier this month by detailing four instances where Mr Hutton was denied natural justice, contradicting federal leader and Brisbane-based senator Larissa Waters’ assertion that the process was fair.
Her office did not respond to written questions. But a spokesman for the Queensland Greens said the party’s position on trans rights would not change.
“The Greens have proudly fought for the rights of trans and gender diverse people for a long time, and we’re not going to leave trans people behind,” the spokesman said. “Importantly, under the Queensland Greens’ rules, free speech does not include the right to harm others.”
Asked if he would continue to pursue an apology and compensation from the Queensland Greens – which he founded in 1991 before setting up the national party with Bob Brown – Mr Hutton said: “We’re still in negotiation, so I won’t comment.”
He would, however, campaign openly for free speech to be embedded “in the culture of the Greens” on the back of his experience. “The codes of conduct and charters that all Green parties have should contain a very explicit commitment to free speech,” he said.
“I will certainly be moving to have that put into the charter of the Queensland Greens. I mean, those commitments are there but they need to be put up in lights so that everybody is aware of them and that there are no areas of policy which are out of bounds, and which members will be disciplined for if they raise them.”
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