Georgie Stone outlines transgender journey in National Press Club Address

Posted on 31 March, 2023

Today is International Transgender Day of Visbility.

And while she is just 22, Georgie Stone has spent more than half her life advocating for transgender rights.

On Tuesday 4 April, Georgie will present a National Press Club Address in Canberra for Women in Media outlining her journey and the need for greater support for the trans community.

You may recognise Georgie’s face as that of Mckenzie Hargreaves on the long-running television drama Neighbours, where Georgie is the first trans actor in a trans role on the show.

She made Australian history at the age of 10, when she was the youngest person to receive hormone blockers in Australia, and, with the support of her family, Georgie went on to change existing laws which compel transgender children and their families to have to face the Family Court in order to access stage one and stage two treatment.

Georgie’s visibility and decision to share her experiences and insights across all media platforms has shone a light on the challenges facing gender diverse children and adolescents in Australia.

Georgie Stone is addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on the 4th April.

Her mother, Rebekah Robertson, has written a book about raising Georgie, About a Girl, and has helped advocate on behalf of parents of trans children in Australia. Last year Georgie produced and released a Netflix documentary of her life, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in June .

Georgie said she was excited and honoured to have the opportunity to speak at the National Press Club, “to talk about my experience as a transgender young person in Australia and the ways in which we as a society can better support the trans community”.

She has earned a number of awards, including a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2020, the 2016 GLOBE GLBTI Person of the Year, the 2017 Young People’s Human Rights Medal, the 2018 Victorian Young Australian of the Year and the 2019 Australian LGBTI Hero of the Year.

CEO of family and trans youth support organisation, Transcend Australia, Jeremy Wiggins said the address would be a “landmark moment for positive representation of Australian trans, gender diverse and non-binary young people”.

“The voices of young people need to be heard, particularly those who are so often subjected to harmful public debate without the opportunity to speak for themselves. We hope this can set a new direction to bring fairness and respect to Australian media when discussing the lives of trans people.”