Marise Payne defends taxpayer funded sex change surgeries

Defence Minister Marise Payne has defended the more than $1 million taxpayer spend on treatment for ADF personnel.

Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne during Question Time in the Senate chamber today.

Defence Minister Marise Payne has defended the spending of more than $1 million of taxpayer funds on sex change surgeries and gender dysphoria treatment for Australian Defence Force personnel.

Speaking in the upper-house today, Senator Payne said the sex change surgeries were a justified expense after she was quizzed on the spending by One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson.

“When and why has it become the defence force’s responsibility to fund 27 ADF staff personnel sex change operations and treatment for gender dysphoria over the past five years?” Senator Hanson asked.

Senator Payne said that ADF members were not individually covered by Medicare and the funding of surgeries and treatment for gender dysphoria was provided on the prescription of the treating doctor.

She said that cosmetic or elective surgeries were not funded.

“What Defence provides is comprehensive healthcare that is clinically necessary for the management of health conditions, of illnesses and injuries,” Senator Payne said.

“Gender dysphoria, in that context, is managed in accordance with current best practice clinical guidelines under the same principles as any other health condition.”

Senator Hanson pressed the government on why it had spent more than $1 million on gender dysphoria treatment and sex change surgeries when there were other issues faced by ADF personnel — including the management of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Senator Payne took issue with the comparison of separate health conditions. “In no way, does Defence’s engagement in relation to gender dyphsoria diminish or lessen defence’s commitment … to the strongest possible support for returned servicemen and women,” she said.

Senator Payne also said that in 2015-16, the total expenditure on ADF health was $430 million.

The Australian revealed last week that, from November 2012 to March 2017, there were 27 ADF members who received treatment for gender dysphoria. Seventeen ADF members had sex-change surgery — 10 being male-to-female reassignments — with the total cost amounting to $1,052,330 not including pharmaceuticals dispensed by the ADF.

Former SAS commander and West Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie criticised the ADF for spending more than $1 million on treatment for staff with gender dysphoria revealing he left the military because of “aggressive social engineering.”