South Australia Parliament to introduce gender-neutral language even for King Charles
‘Gender neutral’ pronouns will be introduced in the Aussie state parliament for MPs and dignitaries… even His Majesty King Charles will be given a ‘woke’ new title
- SA Parliament to adopt gender-neutral terms
- Even King Charles gets a new ‘woke’ title
- Some members of the Senate are not impressed
South Australia’s parliament is scrapping ‘gender-specific’ terms such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘him’ and ‘her’ and introducing ‘gender-neutral’ pronouns.
The House of Representatives will adopt the amendments as part of its by-laws, with even ‘His Majesty’ King Charles now being referred to as ‘the sovereign’.
Instead of saying his or her excellence in front of state governors like Frances Adamson, she and all subsequent titleholders will be referred to as “the governor.”
‘They’, ‘their’ and ‘they’ replace all gendered pronouns in the Rules of Procedure, while parliamentary committees no longer have a ‘Chairman’ but are chaired by ‘the Chairman’.
The state Labor government and the coalition opposition jointly supported the amendments.
The Lower House of the South Australian Parliament will use gender-neutral language in its official and ceremonial pronouncements
King Charles (pictured right with Queen Consort Camilla) is given the title of ‘the Sovereign’
A spokesman for the government led by Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas said the change would “modernize the parliamentary workplace.”
“With a record number of Labor women elected to parliament, it makes no sense for them to be called ‘chairman’ if they oversee a committee,” they said.
Opposition spokeswoman Michelle Lensink said the changes reflect “community expectations” while simplifying and updating references “in line with other jurisdictions across the country.”
The changed language is accompanied by a range of other measures to allow electronic participation in committee meetings, changes to maternity leave, changes to notice period questions, and removal of redundant standing orders.
Despite the changes that only applied to the House of Commons, some MPs from the House of Lords in South Australia were far from impressed.
“Wokeism has even permeated the workings of parliament,” said SA-Best MLC Frank Pangallo.
A spokesman for the government led by Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas (pictured) said the change would “modernize the parliamentary workplace”
South Australian Governor Frances Adamson (pictured centre) will be known as ‘the Governor’
“I don’t think (gender pronouns) have caused any harm or offense to our community. I think these are some kind of left-wing elements in politics making an effort.’
Mr Pangallo argued that parliament should focus on issues such as the health care crises and the child protection system.
One Nation MLC Sarah Game said ‘at first I think it’s ridiculous to remove him/her/he/she’.
Greens MLC Robert Simms supported the changes, saying they were in line with modern workplace standards.