Trans activist Claire Southey loses Press Council discrimination case

The activist waged a long legal battle against the Press Council over stories which ‘perpetuate discrimination’ against transgender Australians.

Activist Claire Southey lost a court case against the Press Council over a series of articles.

Trans activist Claire Southey has lost her lengthy legal battle against the Australian Press Council over the publication of stories which “perpetuate discrimination” against transgender Australians.

The dispute, heard across two separate cases, regarded allegations from Ms Southey that the Press Council facilitated the mistreatment of transgender people by not properly adjudicating complaints about transgender offenders.

The first case hinged on an article published in The Daily Telegraph, which Ms Southey said perpetuated discrimination against transgender Australians by associating the person’s transgender status with criminal acts.

The article related to a convicted paedophile, who was born a man but identified as a woman, and was referred to in the article using male pronouns and by her former name.

Ms Southey’s complaint referred to a specific paragraph in the article that referred to “paedophile Scott Lee Irwin, who a court was told has identified as transgender and was now known as Sheryl”. She argued the article sustained negative stereotypes about transgender people being sexual predators.

The second case related to news reports across multiple outlets in which the NSW State Parole Authority granted parole to convicted murderer Reginald Arthurell. During the period of incarceration, the offender identified as transgender.

The particular reference complained of included: “Arthurell plans to undergo a sex change as soon as possible, and the court heard Arthurell identified as transgender.”

Further, Ms Southey argued she was personally discriminated against throughout the Press Council complaints process, claiming her issue was dismissed because she identified as transgender.

Convicted murderer Reginald Arthurell.

She said if the articles “had made such prominent references to an offender’s race or sexual orientation” the Press Council would have probed the issue, and thus her complaint must not have been furthered because of her own transgender status.

However, on Tuesday the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal threw out both cases, as Ms Southey had failed to provide evidence to ”establish it would be fair for the complaint to proceed.”

“There is no evidence that the applicant was treated less favourably in the consideration of her complaint because she is a transgender person,” NCAT senior member Craig Mulvey ruled. “There are no documents or records of conversations or any other evidence that would assist in establishing this.”

Further, Mr Mulvey said he was not satisfied the Press Council adopted any “decision-making practice … demonstrating that less favourable treatment is accorded to complaints of transgender discrimination.”

At the beginning of 2019, Ms Southey and queer activist group Rainbow Rights Watch swamped the Press Council with numerous complaints against major media publishers over their portrayal of transgender people.

The Press Council chose to uphold complaints against The Daily Mail and nine.com.au for referring to the transgender status of a woman charged with manslaughter.

The woman, Jade Walker – sister of NRL star Dylan Walker – had been charged over the death of her boyfriend following a domestic violence incident, but was later cleared by police.

The Press Council ruled Ms Walker’s transgender status was not relevant to the alleged criminality, and by reporting it the sites had breached the council’s general principles.

At the time, Daily Mail Australia’s managing director Peter Holder told The Australian his organisation was a committed Press Council member but was “becoming increasingly concerned and frustrated” by the way it was “being held to ransom by a small but well-drilled group which appears to oppose any use of the ‘T word’.”