‘I’ll have to bow and apologise’: Palmer admits mistake while stoking gender war

Clive Palmer has admitted fumbling the declaration “there are only two genders – male and female” in his controversial new ads, saying he should have instead said there were only two sexes in a blitz of pre-paid advertisements running across television and newspapers before the federal election.

Palmer targeted transgender issues in a National Press Club address on Thursday – referencing culture war topics such as trans women’s participation in sport and children’s safety at school – while at the same time claiming Australia’s public debate was being derailed by the topic.

Clive Palmer, Trumpet of Patriots chairman and party spokesperson, poses for cameras ahead of an address to the National Press Club.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Anna Brown, head of advocacy group Equality Australia, said Palmer had admitted he didn’t know what he was talking about when it came to sex and gender issues.

“He is either ill-informed, malicious or dangerously foolish. His embarrassing performance at the Press Club would be almost comedic if he wasn’t hurting real people,” she said.

Palmer has said his Trumpet of Patriots party shared many policy positions with Donald Trump, who signed executive orders proclaiming the US government would recognise only two sexes in one of his first acts as president this year.

On Thursday, Palmer said his party’s policy was “to recognise that there are two genders, a man and a woman, male and female”, repeating the slogan from ads that have recently appeared on television and in newspapers, including The Age.

“If you go on the website for the World Health Organisation, you’ll find they recognise that,” he said.

But when pulled up by a reporter about the true contents of the World Health Organisation’s website – which says that rigid gender norms negatively affect people with diverse gender identities – Palmer clarified.

“I’ll have to bow and apologise to you and say there are only two sexes. That’s what I meant to say. There’s either a man or a woman, and that’s what I meant to say. In all of my life, I’ve only ever experienced those two sexes,” he said.

The World Health Organisation defines sex as a set of biological attributes, mainly associated with physical and physiological features. “Sex is often categorised as females and males, but there are variations of sex characteristics called intersex,” it says.

The Age’s front page on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.Credit: The Age

“Gender interacts with but is different from sex. The two terms are distinct and should not be used interchangeably. It can be helpful to think of sex as a biological characteristic and gender as a social construct.”

Palmer’s gender ad was roundly criticised by equality advocates this week and The Newcastle Herald apologised for running it.

In his speech, the billionaire borrowed from a line that Trump deployed against Democrat Kamala Harris at last year’s presidential election, saying: “While Labor and Liberals are for ‘they/them’, the Trumpet of Patriots are for you”.

Pressed on why he was raising the issue in the first place, Palmer said he wanted to put an end to peripheral debates and return to more important problems such as the economy. “What we’re saying is simply that that debate has taken over our country’s priorities and it shouldn’t have,” he said.

However, transgender issues have not featured heavily in federal political debate since it backfired for then-prime minister Scott Morrison and former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves at the last election.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried so hard to avoid the issue this term that he upset equality advocates in the process – abandoning his promise to protect transgender children and staff from discrimination in religious schools, and flip-flopping over questions about sexuality and gender in the census.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has weighed into discussions about transgender people’s participation in sport but steered clear of more polarising debates, although his MPs have freelanced. Most Coalition senators last month supported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s bid for a political inquiry into treatments for transgender children, despite Labor having already commissioned a medical review.

Brown said Australians were sceptical of importing Trump-style rhetoric and most people did not want trans issues politicised in this year’s election campaign.

“Most Australians are outraged to see a billionaire splash a truly obscene amount of money peddling hate and sowing division when they can’t afford to pay their bill or buy groceries,” she said.

Palmer on Thursday said his foray into federal politics was driven by the fact he had money to spend and cared about Australia. After spending $100 million in 2022 to get just one candidate elected to the Senate, Palmer said political representation was not the end game.

“It’s my money. If I lose it, I lose it. I don’t necessarily put the money in thinking we’ll have candidates,” he said. “At 70, I could join many Australians and play lawn bowls. I find this more exciting.”

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