Perth Lord Mayor and media personality Basil Zempilas apologises to transgender people and admits he “forgot” his new role as an elected representative while hosting his morning radio show, as advocates organise a rally against him in the city.

New Perth Lord Mayor and media personality Basil Zempilas has apologised to transgender people for comments he made on his morning radio show, saying he “forgot” his new role as an elected representative.
Key points:

• Breakfast radio host Basil Zempilas was elected Perth Lord Mayor
• He suggested on air that people’s genders were defined by genitalia
• He has apologised for the comments, saying they were “not helpful”

Yesterday Mr Zempilas, who was elected to office earlier this month, told listeners of the breakfast show he co-hosts on 6PR it was “wrong” for someone to identify as a gender different to their physical anatomy.
“If you’ve got a penis mate, you’re a bloke,” he said.
“If you’ve got a vagina, you’re a woman. Game over.”
Mr Zempilas also called for any women with a penis to ring the radio station for the chance to win a $100 store voucher.
Listen: Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas’s comments caused offence, trans advocate says.
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This morning, he fronted a media conference to apologise for his comments.
“For a brief moment I forgot that I was the Lord Mayor of the City of Perth,” Mr Zempilas said.
“That was my mistake. It’s my job to be better than that and it won’t happen again.
“I do know what a transgender person is and I regret the comments that I made, because I know they’re not helpful.”
‘Educate yourself’
There has been strong backlash from Perth’s trans and LBGTIQ community, with well-known drag queen Scarlet Adams sharing a video of herself dancing to Lily Allen’s ‘F*** You’ which lambasts individuals with intolerant views and tearing up a picture of Mr Zempilas.
There is also a rally against Mr Zempilas planned for this Saturday in the City of Perth, with organisers calling on people to “stand up to transphobia”.
Holly Elkes, a trans woman who has worked at Connections nightclub in the CBD for six years, said she was aware that Mr Zempilas had previously attended the venue and met trans people.
Holly Elkes says trans people have “heard these comments every day for decades”.(Supplied: Holly Elkes)
“He hasn’t said these things to our faces before, so why now?” she said.
“We have heard these comments every day for decades and we get worn down by it when it comes from the general public, let alone from someone in a position of power who makes decisions on our behalf.
“If you are going to be in a position of power, you need to educate yourself. This is like queer people 101.”
If you or anyone you know needs help:
Holly’s mother, Deb, called ABC Radio Perth to say she had been “mortified” by the comments.
“It was disgusting behaviour from the Lord Mayor,” she said.
“[Trans people] hear those words every day and when it comes from a person of power, it enables everybody else to start doing it too.
“To top all that off, when you offer a cash voucher for comment on that, that is abhorrent in my view.
“[Holly] works at an establishment in the CBD that brings money into Perth. There are lots of trans-people who work there, and she thinks that this stuff that Basil is spewing is another reason for people hearing it to be transphobic too.
“It gives the green light for those people already thinking about it to be bigots.”
Telethon Institute ‘disappointed’ by host’s remarks
Mr Zempilas is the perennial host of WA’s Telethon fundraising event, which is sponsored by Seven West Media.
The Telethon Kids Institute is currently undertaking research on discrimination and marginalisation related to gender identity.
The Institute posted a statement to its website expressing disappointment at Mr Zempilas’s comments.
“We at Telethon Kids were disappointed to read the comments made by our new Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas about the transgender community,” a statement issued by the Institute said.
“Telethon Kids is an independent medical research institute and we are absolutely committed to our research and advocacy to support transgender children and young people.
“Western Australia has an amazing transgender community who deserve our full support.
“We acknowledge Basil’s apology and will be inviting him to visit the Institute to learn more about the research we do and the issues faced by the transgender community.”
6PR advertiser distances itself from comments
Retravision, the store Mr Zempilas offered to provide a voucher for to any woman with a penis who called in, expressed their deep regret that they were associated with such commentary.
“As a strong supporter of the LGBTIQ+ community, Retravision and our staff would like to strongly address yesterday’s comments,” a statement from the store said.
“The comments pertaining to the transgender and non-binary community are in no way endorsed by Retravision.
“We deeply regret that Mr Zempilas associated Retravision with his comments and we in no way support the views he shared.”
Zempilas to stay at Seven West as columnist and presenter
Mr Zempilas faced questions at the media conference from some of his colleagues, with veteran Channel 7 reporter Geof Parry putting to him: “Less than a week into the job and you are a bit of an embarrassment to the City of Perth, Baz?”
The Lord Mayor repeatedly referred to the incident as a moment of “bad broadcasting”.
Do you know more about this story? Contact Rhiannon Shine
He said he would invite people from the transgender and non-binary communities to meet with him and educate him and said his comments did not reflect his views or values.
In accepting the Lord Mayor role, Mr Zempilas said he would resign from his top-rating 6PR radio show duties later this year.
He said he would remain a sports presenter for Seven West Media and also continue to write a weekly column for The West Australian newspaper, which is also owned by Seven West.
That column was also the source of backlash from human rights groups after Mr Zempilas wrote about how he would “forcibly remove” homeless people from Perth’s streets, calling them a “blight” on the city.
He later apologised for those comments as well.
Questions over ongoing radio host role
Mr Zempilas was asked if the on-air blunder had exposed a problem with him working as a radio broadcaster while also holding the role of Lord Mayor.
Mr Zempilas, pictured with his wife Amy, has not ruled out future radio work.(ABC News: Jessica Warriner)
“It’s my job to get that right. It’s my job to get that balance right,” he said.
“I think on most occasions I do get that right. But I accept that yesterday, for a brief moment, I was not on top of my game.
“It was bad broadcasting and it’s a mistake that I should not have made, and I won’t make it again.
“I just have to be better at combining those roles. That’s what it shows. I can’t make mistakes like I made yesterday.”
He said he would not rule out working as a radio broadcaster next year while still serving as Lord Mayor, but said he had not had any offers from other radio stations.
“I enjoy doing radio. I think generally I do it pretty well,” he said.
“And I do think it is going to add to my role as the Lord Mayor of the City of Perth, so I won’t rule it out.”