Family First National Director Lyle Shelton has expressed deep disappointment that responses received from both the Prime Minister's office and the Governor-General's office fail to engage with the substantive issues raised in his formal correspondence of 8 May 2026 (see copies of letters below).
In letters to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Mr Shelton respectfully requested that the Governor-General relinquish her patronage of Equality Australia. He argued that continued association with the organisation risks compromising the strictly apolitical, unifying and impartial role of the office of Governor-General.
"The responses do not address the core concerns I raised," Mr Shelton said. "They appear to treat the matter as a generic explanation of patronage arrangements rather than engaging with the serious questions of neutrality, public perception, and the political nature of Equality Australia's activities."
Mr Shelton renewed his call for the Governor-General to resign as a patron of Equality Australia.
"The office of Governor-General must remain above politics and be seen to represent all Australians impartially. Equality Australia is a political advocacy organisation actively engaged in highly contested debates. These include gender identity policy, the promotion of so-called 'gender-affirming' medical interventions for minors - interventions now banned or heavily restricted in multiple jurisdictions because of limited evidence and known risks - and the erosion of sex-based rights and protections for women and girls," he said.
"Of particular concern is that Equality Australia has publicly welcomed a recent procedural setback in my ongoing legal proceedings arising from public commentary on drag queen activism targeted at children. This case has become a significant test of freedom of speech in Australia. Continued patronage creates an unavoidable perception - whether intended or not - that the prestige and symbolic weight of the Governor-General's office is aligned with one side of a live legal dispute involving fundamental democratic freedoms.
"It is not appropriate for the Crown's representative to lend her name to an organisation that campaigns on such divisive matters, intervenes in court proceedings, and lobbies for policy changes opposed by many Australians. Equality Australia's co-patron is the drag performer Shane Jenek (Courtney Act). The organisation has also received special legislative treatment for tax-deductible gift recipient status after regulators and the courts rejected its claim to be a public benevolent institution rather than an advocacy body.
"Australians deserve a Governor-General who unites the nation rather than risks being seen to take sides in contested cultural, political and legal debates. I renew my respectful request that Her Excellency immediately sever her patronage of Equality Australia so that the office continues to serve as a symbol of national unity above politics and advocacy."
