Kate Cummings: Democrat Candidate for Grayndler

by Katherine Cummings

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Katherine Cummings, who had gender reassignment surgery early in 1989, has recently been endorsed as the Australian Democrats' candidate for the Federal seat of Grayndler which covers Newtown, Stanmore, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Ashbury, Ashfield, Marrickville, Hurlstone Park, Camperdown, Enmore, Sydenham, Tempe and Petersham.

This means that the Gender Centre falls within Grayndler and Katherine intends make service to the transgender community one of her priorities.

"There has been a lot of progress made in the last year or so," said Katherine, "in the field of anti-­discrimination and anti-vilification laws and the revision of birth documentation for those fortunate enough to have been born in this State."

"There is, however, a lot more that can be done, including recognition of the rights of same-sex couples and acceptance of the fact that transgendered people should be allowed to marry in their gender of choice."

"Another area that needs revision is the treatment of transgender procedures by Medicare. I have been in correspondence with Medicare over their funding for transgender procedures ever since 1989 and have made very little progress. If am elected I may have a better chance to achieve something in this area. When I had my operation, Medicare was operating under the stupid assumption that the first half of the operation (removal of my male genitalia) was therapeutic, and could be covered by Medicare, but the construction of female genitalia was cosmetic and therefore not covered. This meant that all Medibank benefits also cut out halfway through the operation. There is no doubt in my mind that the whole procedure should be covered and I will continue my campaign for this, whether or not I am elected."

Katherine admits she seldom takes part in public demonstrations, as she doubts their effectiveness. "Politicians are used to being shouted and chanted at and having placards waved at them and usually dismiss public demonstrations with some glib comment like "Rent-a-Crowd". I prefer to write letters and seek interviews with politicians and their advisers. So far I have had two significant successes ... the acceptance by the Tax Office that electrolysis expenses are therapeutic, not cosmetic, for male-to-­female transsexuals and therefore claimable and the agreement by the Department of Immigration to change the names on Naturalisation Certificates to the adopted name of post-operative transgenders. Both these achievements took a lot of letter-writing and argument but in time the people I was writing to were persuaded. After four years of claiming electrolysis expenses and being knocked back I was suddenly successful in the fifth year and the Tax Office even back-paid me for the previous four years. I was able to pay for a trip to the United States on the proceeds!"

"When my friend Carol Abrahams committed suicide and the Attorney-General was making noises about tightening procedures to make it more difficult for transsexuals to obtain surgery, I wrote to both the Attorney General and the Minister for Health, asking for the chance to talk with them concerning Carol's case. Some side-kick of the A.G. wrote a silly reply showing that he had not understood my concern, but Dr. Refshauge invited me to speak with him and I made the case that tightening procedures would almost certainly lead to more suicides, not fewer, and pointed out that Carol's suicide had been caused by a variety of causes, none of which was regret for having undergone the operation, despite the findings of the Coroner. I speak with authority in this area, as Carol is one of the seven transsexuals who recovered in my home after their reassignment and she often talked to me at great length during her convalescence.

Katherine is a professional librarian and a freelance writer. Her autobiography, "Katherine's Diary; the story of a transsexual", won the Australian Human Rights Award for Non-Fiction in 1992. Since then she has written an epilogue of sorts, "The Life and Loves of an XY Woman", which appeared in an anthology of women's writing (No Thanks Or Regrets, published in 1996). She was made redundant in a downsizing at Macquarie University at the beginning of 1998 and is enjoying the feeling that she has more time to devote to her causes and her interests, but she keeps her hand in as a reference librarian by answering reference questions on the internet.

"Why the Democrats?" she asked. "Well, for a start they are the only party which can be trusted with the balance of power. Both the major parties have moved to the right and although I was a Labor voter for many years I do not like their policies for education, health care and tax reform and even their foreign policy is suspect. Only the Democrats have held the line that East Timor should have the right to self-determination and only the Democrats support the abandoned Labor policy of free education. We have moved in my lifetime from being a nation of laissez-faire humanists to being a profit-oriented nation of economic rationalists. With the rise of the execrable One Nation and its simplistic and stupid solutions to its invented problems it is time for anyone who thinks at all to think seriously of supporting the Democrats. And very recently Liz Kirkby presented a Bill to the N.S.W. Upper House, advocating equal rights for same-sex relationships."

"If anyone in the transgender community needs information which I can supply or sees problems which need to be attacked at the political level, or if anyone wants to volunteer help in the distribution of flyers or by handing out "how-ta-votes" on polling day at the booths, I can be contacted by phone/fax on (02) 9557 ­3341 or by writing to me C/O Australian Democrats, P.O. Box 3, Stanmore Newsagency, Percival Road, Stanmore, N.S.W., 2048." Katherine added.

"Support for the Democrats does not mean simply voting Democrat on polling day. We will need grass-roots support long before then. Leaflets need to be dropped in letter-boxes, how-to-vote cards have to be organised and handed out on election day. Above all, we need to create a network by talking with anyone and eveyone, Point out to them that there is only one credible alternative to the failed major parties and that everyone should vote Democrat first.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.