Dr Claire Methven O'Brien

A lucid decision from Australia's Federal Court today in Lesbian Action Group Inc v Australian Human Rights Commission [2026] FCA 432. TLDR: 1) Sex is immutable. 2) The prohibition on sex discrimination under national equality laws and the scope of exemptions from it are to be interpreted in light of the wider human rights, equal treatment and social interests and objectives that provided the original rationale for their enactment. 3) This applies even in relation to the interpretation of such laws and exemptions by *national human rights institutions*. 4) The end.

A lucid decision from Australia's Federal Court today in Lesbian Action Group Inc v Australian Human Rights Commission [2026] FCA 432. TLDR: 1) Sex is immutable. 2) The prohibition on sex discrimination under national equality laws and the scope of exemptions from it are to be interpreted in light of the wider human rights, equal treatment and social interests and objectives that provided the original rationale for their enactment. 3) This applies even in relation to the interpretation of such laws and exemptions by *national human rights institutions*. 4) The end.

Personal view: In the context of assisted dying, the residual risk of abuse should be zero. Can this ever be achieved? I don't know. But everything I've seen in Scotland over recent years tells me it will be very far from that here for the foreseeable future.

🚨BOMBSHELL EXPOSÉ: TREVOR PHILLIPS RIPS LID OFF LABOUR'S GROOMING GANGS COVER-UP 💣 Keir Starmer and the Labour Party Sabotaging National Inquiry to Hide Racial Targeting of White Girls and Decades of Failure in Their Own Councils In a devastating intervention, Sir Trevor Phillips has blown the whistle on what he calls a deliberate political cover-up at the heart of Britain's grooming gangs scandal. The former Equality and Human Rights Commission chair accuses Labour of sabotaging the national inquiry because of its explosive racial implications — and because so much of the abuse took place under Labour-controlled councils that did nothing to stop it. “The government clearly never wanted these two things to be put together,” Phillips declared. He points to Labour's efforts to downplay “the intersection of race and sexual predation,” insisting the perpetrators deliberately targeted victims because they were white and outside the groomers' community. “These children are chosen because of their race. They are chosen because they are white and because they’re outside the community of the groomers.” Phillips highlights the chilling uniqueness of these crimes: unlike typical child abuse kept hidden, grooming gangs operate in plain sight — with perpetrators knowing they are shielded. “The other thing is these people know that they are protected. They’re protected politically, they’re protected by social workers, they’re protected by local police. That is the scandal here.” He pulls no punches on why a full reckoning has been avoided: “Much of this took place in local Labour councils and the authorities who were supposed to be watching over this, stopping it, monitoring it and all the rest of it were controlled by those councils and they did nothing.” This is not just institutional failure — it's a politically motivated shield thrown over horrific, racially aggravated sexual exploitation that went on for years under Labour's watch. Right now, they deserve justice — and Britain deserves the full, fearless national inquiry that has been denied for far too long.

Notice how quickly he tries to steer the conversation towards county lines. Yes, we absolutely have a county lines problem in London — no one denies that. But pay attention to what he says: he claims girls groomed into county lines were “used for sex.” Used for sex. That wording alone tells you everything about how lightly he treats the rape of young girls in the capital he’s supposed to be governing. And also, look at how rude he is throughout the exchange. This isn’t a one-off. This is how he speaks to all women in the London Assembly regularly. I’ve seen it over and over again.

Journalist asks if there were any red flags regarding the transgender Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Strang, who murdered nine people before killing himself. Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald: “So the suspect is identified as an 18-year-old female...”