Queensland health minister Tim Nicholls said the Vine report was in his hands but refused to give any timeline for public release or government action.
Professor Ruth Vine has handed her review of Queensland’s gender-affirming care to state health minister Tim Nicholls who has refused to say if the report will be made public, or when the government will release a response.
Professor Vine was appointed in March to review the evidence for using puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone therapy for children with gender dysphoria in Queensland Health facilities.
Mr Nicholls announced the review in January, and banned prescribing of puberty blockers and hormone therapy in the state’s public hospitals. The ban was later found to be unlawful, but has since been reimposed.
“The Vine report was received yesterday in accordance with its terms, and it’s a very lengthy report, and it will be considered by cabinet in due course,” Mr Nicholls told media today.
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“As I’ve said all along, that’s a matter that will be considered by cabinet, and once cabinet has considered, we’ll be making announcements”.
The government has not committed to releasing the report to the public. Mr Nicholls said there had been no decision made either way. He also refused to give a timeline for when it would make a decision about the report.
“I imagine it will be considered in fairly prompt time, but as I say, it’s a big document. We only got it yesterday. It’ll take time to read through it. It’ll be time to understand what it recommends, and then time for consideration by cabinet,” he said.
