Kirralie Smith- transgender vilification and sport

Associate Professor Neil Foster writes –

“I have previously written about the case of Kirralie Smith. Ms Smith is part of an advocacy organisation, Binary Australia Ltd, which advocates for sex-based rights, especially for women, and sometimes posts about biological males who have been allowed to compete in women’s sport. Stephanie Blanch (and Riley Dennis) were mentioned on the website of Binary and elsewhere online in this context, and then claimed that this amounted to ‘transgender vilification’ under section 38S(1)(a) of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1975 (“ADA”). The plaintiffs in the original litigation were each described by Deputy Chief Magistrate Freund as a ‘transgender woman’, and were both born biologically male.

In the earlier proceedings (judgments linked in my previous post) Smith was found to have committed vilification, ordered to pay a total of $95,000 in damages to the two plaintiffs, and found liable for costs. An appeal was lodged, and the NSW Supreme Court (Rigg J) has now handed down a judgment granting leave to appeal in some respects, but mostly dismissing the appeal grounds: see Smith v Blanch; Smith v Dennis [2026] NSWSC 879 (24 July 2026) (Blanch and Dennis Supreme Court Appeal, ‘BDSCA’). Smith remains liable to pay $95,000, is forbidden ‘from publishing on social media or otherwise anything relating to the defendant[s] to the same or similar effect as held to be unlawful vilification in [the previous] Local Court proceedings’ – see BDSCA [261], [262]. She also has to pin a notice about the proceedings ‘on all social media pages and websites over which [she has] control, including Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) and the website of Binary Australia’, for 3 months. (See Annexure A to BDSCA for the content.)

In this post I will aim to explain the basis for the court’s decision. As will be seen, I think there may be grounds for a further appeal. …”

– Read it at Law and Religion Australia.

Giggle v Tickle — further response on “special measures”

Associate Professor Neil Foster writes about back-and-forth arguments on Giggle v Tickle –

“The debate around whether a women-only app can exclude those born male is continuing. The decision of the Full Federal Court in Giggle v Tickle holds that it was unlawful for Sall Grover to exclude Roxanne Tickle from the ‘Giggle for Girls’ app.

I posted a critique of the decision on this blog. Professor Paula Gerber later argued, in a post on the ABC Religion and Ethics website, that the decision is correct. I then published a comment on the ABC site re-iterating my reasons for thinking that the decision is wrong, and critiquing Professor Gerber’s initial comment.

Professor Gerber then posted again on the ABC website (‘PG Response 1’), suggesting I was wrong to refer to possible religious freedom issues. I responded…”

– Read it all at Law and Religion Australia.

Calls for Finnish free speech campaigner Päivi Räsänen to be deplatformed

From The Christian Institute in the United Kingdom –

“MLAs have called for the former Finnish MP, dragged to court for quoting the Bible, to be barred from speaking in Stormont due to her biblical views.

Following reports that Päivi Räsänen was invited to talk at a ‘Faith in the Public Square’ event in Stormont, associated with the Bangor Worldwide Missionary Convention, Naomi Long, the Alliance Party leader, wrote that Räsänen would “bring the Assembly into disrepute” by being there, and called for her to be deplatformed. …

Räsänen said that she was no longer confident she would make it to the conference in Northern Ireland in August as her electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK was cancelled. …

American author Rod Dreher stated: ‘Päivi Räsänen, an elected European lawmaker, cannot travel through Heathrow Airport on the way back home, on orders of His Majesty’s government. Why? Because she is a convicted hate-speech criminal, for quoting the Bible in public. That’s where we are.’…”

– Read it all here.

And see earlier, related posts.

Disdain and hostility: What I witnessed at the Church of England’s General Synod

“Every five years (called a quinquennium), the Church of England elects its General Synod, which is essentially the church’s equivalent of the House of Commons.

And as this quinquennium came to an end, it felt as if the sun was setting on the Church of England as a whole.

I am an outsider. I am not a Church of England member.

But I am a Christian, and I believe wholeheartedly in the Christian faith that the Church of England has historically upheld and still claims to do so today.

I attended General Synod for the first time to support Rebecca Bensted from the Christian Legal Centre and our Core Issues Trust/X-Out-Loud allies as we held a fringe event to explore the ramifications of a ‘conversion therapy’ ban, and highlight the importance of the gospel message of change, repentance and regeneration.

And I was astounded by what I saw. …”

– From Christian Concern, Holly Baines reflects on her experience at the Church of England’s General Synod.

CofE General Synod Private Member’s Motion affirming intimate same-sex relationships narrowly defeated

From The Church of England Evangelical Council –

“A Private Member’s Motion seeking to affirm that committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationships are compatible with Christian discipleship was narrowly defeated at this week’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod in York.

The motion, proposed by Professor Helen King and amended by the Very Revd Christopher Dalliston, was debated on Monday 13 July as part of the Church’s continuing dialogue around marriage and sexual ethics. …”

– News from CEEC. Emphasis added.

A Chaplain’s Vindication

Andrea Williams, Director of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre in Great Britain, shines a light on the “institutional self-loathing” of the Church of England and the toll on a minister of the gospel –

“Dr Bernard Randall’s seven-year ordeal is one of the most extraordinary and disturbing cases I and the team at the Christian Legal Centre have ever had the privilege of being involved in.

Here was a Church of England chaplain, preaching in a Church of England chapel, in a school with a Church of England ethos, giving a sermon rooted in Church of England doctrine.

He encouraged pupils to think, to debate, and to love their neighbours. He did not bully. He did not harass. He did not incite hatred. He did what a Christian minister is called to do. …

The Church of England should have defended Bernard immediately. It should have recognised that a chaplain in a Christian school must be free to articulate Christian doctrine.

Instead, it joined the pile-on. It blacklisted him, demanded he submit to a psychological assessment by someone whose work included assessing serious offenders, and left him shut out of ministry for years.…”

– Read it all at The Critic. Photo: Christian Concern.

See also:

Chaplain wins double vindication after sermon on identity – Christian Concern.

“…it was the way the Church of England treated him that beggared belief. He was blacklisted by his church denomination over baseless safeguarding concerns.

Had he preached in a CofE place of worship, he could have faced disciplinary action.”

Tasmania: Ten Problems with the Greens’ Anti-Conversion Bill

At AP, the national online Presbyterian journal, Mark Powell shares his concerns about legislation which is being proposed for Tasmania –

“Can I ask that you would stop what you’re doing and please pray for Tasmania? As with what we have seen occur in many other states in Australia, the Greens are seeking to introduce an ‘anti-conversion’ bill and it should be of serious concern to everyone and especially to people of Christian faith. …”

– Read it all here.

U.K. clergyman cleared after 7-year legal battle over gender ideology

The latest in a long-running saga –

“The Rev. Bernard Randall, 53, an Anglican clergyman, reached a settlement with his former employer and was cleared in a Church of England safeguarding investigation after seven years of litigation, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

Randall in 2019 preached a sermon regarding gender ideology while working as a chaplain at an Anglican school, Trent College. He taught, in accordance with the Church of England’s official doctrine, that marriage was between one man and one woman. He said students should debate secular teachings on gender ideology, while urging them to respect alternate views.

The school reported Randall to a government counterterrorism agency and eventually fired him, while he simultaneously faced an inquiry from the Church of England and was barred from preaching. …” (emphasis added)

– Report from World News Group.

Statement from Christian Concern.

“… There has been no apology for the remarkable fact that the Church took nearly seven years to reach its conclusion, whereas the secular LADO took just one day to determine that it was not a safeguarding matter but rather an ‘issue regarding the subject’s beliefs which ran contrary to his employers [Trent College].’ The Church of England’s bishops declared in 2021 that Dr Randall’s sermon contained ‘nothing … outside the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England’, making the contrast in treatment even more extraordinary.

The independent investigator also said: ‘It is a matter for the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the Diocese of Derby as to what they feel is an appropriate role for Dr Randall to be considered for. He may choose to apply for a licence, for Permission to Officiate (PtO) or may apply for another role within a school or another educational facility.’

It now remains to be seen how the Derby Diocese and Bishop of Derby will actively help and support Dr Randall back into full time ministry within the CofE.” (emphasis added)

Earlier posts.

Photo: Christian Concern.

Why the Giggle v Tickle judgement is bad for women’s rights and a risk to religious freedom

“In her recent article, Paula Gerber argued the decision of the Federal Court of Australia in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle was ‘good for trans rights and women’s rights’. With respect, I disagree and would like to explain why.

I believe the decision is bad for women’s rights — especially the rights of women to enjoy single-sex spaces and activities — and may also be bad for the rights of those from religious groups to control their spaces and activities in accordance with their faith commitments. I suspect the decision may also be bad for ‘trans rights’ in the long term. …”

– The ABC’s Religion & Ethics has published this opinion piece by Associate Professor Neil Foster.

Canada steps up its war on the Bible

“The Canadian parliament has passed Bill C-9, known as the Combating Hate Act; it received Royal Assent on June 18 and the provisions come into force on July 18. Mark Carney, the liberal Prime Minister, considers that the legislation is ‘a huge step forward in our mission to build a stronger, safer country’.

Bill C-9 will usher in a ‘dark day’ for Canadians of faith. Conservative MP Brad Redekopp described the Bill as ‘a tool to enforce liberal DEI ideology while leaving fundamental freedoms dangerously exposed’. Such is the danger to the church that the legislation been dubbed the ‘Bible Ban’ Bill. …”

– Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, retired Presbyterian minister in Scotland, wrote this opinion piece for TCW.

The Anglican Church of Canada has published a [trial] euthanasia liturgy

From Anglican Samizdat in Canada –

“The state in Canada has euthanised around 80,000 people as part of its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme since its inception in 2016. That’s one in 20 deaths. So far, you have to be over 18 and of sound mind to request termination. The state even pays for it regardless of income, a claim it can’t make about dental care.

To solemnise the occasion, the Anglican Church of Canada has published a series of liturgies to be used at the bishop’s discretion. …”

– Read here.

Freedom Matters June 2026

The latest episode of Freedom Matters – for June 2026 – has been released – by Freedom for Faith.

“Our focus today is the Human Rights Bill that’s been introduced by the Greens. We’re going to look at that bill and think about what are the implications for religious freedom in particular.

The Human Rights Bill was introduced by the New South Wales Greens back in March of 2025 … was referred to … a parliamentary inquiry, in March of this year … with the submissions closing on the 3rd of July. There are some real challenges in this bill for religious freedom.”

– Bishop Michael Stead is Chair of Freedom for Faith. He is joined by Monica Doumit, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and Freedom for Faith board member.

– Watch here – 40 minutes.

How the World has Changed since Same-Sex Marriage

Mark Powell writes at AP, the national Australian Presbyterian journal –

“The challenge for Christians today is the same as it was for God’s people when they were in exile in Babylon. Whenever an orchestra of musical instruments were played, the people were told to bow down to the golden image, or else.

This is exactly where we all are again today. Except this time the image has every colour of the rainbow. Whatever is threatened if we don’t, it remains binding that we cannot bow down to their image but must continue to worship God alone. …”

– Read it here.

Freedom Matters — latest conversation

From Freedom for Faith –

“Freedom Matters is a conversation with Bishop Michael Stead and Monica Doumit about religious freedom issues across Australia.”

– The latest episode was published last month. Well worth watching to give an idea of current and future challenges.

Michael Stead is the Bishop of South Sydney and Chair of Freedom for Faith.
Monica Doumit is the Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and FFF board member.

Related:

In this three minute video, Freedom for Faith’s Executive Director Mike Southon explains Freedom for Faith’s mission.

Who is really pro-woman?

Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares his latest Minister’s Newsletter –

“Dear Friends, here’s a claim to make you sit up and pay attention:

– Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of problematic ways.

– But Bible-shaped Christianity is pro-woman in regard to dignity and protection.

Let me unpack this… within the confines of an article that I’m trying not to turn into an essay!

Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of ways. For example, sex-selective abortion is legal in Australia. That means if you discover you’re having a baby girl, but you really wanted a boy, there is nothing stopping you seeking a ‘termination’ of a living, human, pre-born baby for no other reason than sex.

This is not hypothetical. …”

– Read (and, if you wish, take action using the links) at the Cathedral website.

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