Radio broadcaster Sean Plunket has thanked controversial British anti-transgender activist Posie Parker after a Twitter ban against him was lifted today.
In a tweet this morning, Plunket thanked a number of people including Posie Parker for getting him off the “naughty step”.
“I’m back,” he said in another pinned tweet.
On his Facebook page, he said, “Many thanks to all here and around the world who advocated for my reinstatement on Twitter”.
On April 3 Plunket posted a screenshot on his Facebook page showing his account was permanently suspended for breaking the social media platform’s rules.
“Just got suspended from Twitter. Another victory for free speech,” he wrote.
1News reported Plunket was permanently suspended after other users reported him for breaking its hateful conduct rule, according to screenshots from the social media website.
Plunket stated he “suspected” he’d been banned because of a “rather ironic tweet, asking if people supported the New Zealander of the Year Awards”.
Before being suspended from Twitter, Plunket had caught Prime Minister Chris Hipkins off guard when he asked him to “define a woman”.
Hipkins was pressed by Plunket at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference on Monday to answer the question, which has troubled leaders across the world.
He claimed it came “out of left field” despite other leaders, such as UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, being faced with the question recently.
“How do you and how does this government define a woman?” Plunket asked.
“Um,” Hipkins began before pausing.
“To be honest Sean, that question has come slightly out of left field for me”
Another lengthier pause followed before Hipkins said: “Well, biology, sex, gender, um ...” trailing off before pausing again and saying: “People define themselves, people define their own genders”.
Plunket then asked the PM to answer the question, referring to Starmer’s answer that 99 per cent of women do not have penises.
“And I know it’s a strange thing for him to say, but given recent events in New Zealand, I’d ask again, how do you define what a woman is?” he asked.
“Well, as I’ve just indicated, I wasn’t expecting that question so it’s not something that I’ve you know, formulated, preformulated an answer on,” Hipkins said.
“But in terms of gender identity, I think people define their gender identity for themselves.”
Thanks to a law passed in 2021, New Zealanders are now allowed to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate.
The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationship Registration Bill means that Kiwis no longer need to provide proof of medical treatment or persuade a court that the change is warranted.
The question - and Hipkins’ laboured answer - had gone viral, coming in the wake of anti-trans activist Posie Parker’s recent controversial visit.
Hipkins was already in the sights of many anti-trans activists after his public comments on the polarising figure’s Let Women Speak tour, which eventually ended in a tense clash at Auckland’s Albert Park.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the trans rights movement, shared the video, writing: “In the interests of balance, someone should now ask women how they define Chris Hipkins.”
British commentator Piers Morgan, who has made a party piece of asking guests on his show to define a woman, joined the fray, writing: “New Zealand’s new Prime Minister doesn’t know what a woman is, despite replacing one as Prime Minister.”
Plunket has also been accused of aggressive behaviour by an employee of The Platform.
The Platform began broadcasting last year, with Martin Devlin, Michael Laws and Plunket himself as regular hosts. The company also creates content for its website and social media platforms.
In February, an editor at The Platform said she was yelled and sworn at by Plunket, before he “punched a desk” standing just a metre in front of her.
But while Plunket largely accepted what he described as “appalling” behaviour, he rejected a personal grievance claim lodged by digital engagement editor Ani O’Brien, who said she felt the workplace was too unsafe to return to and lacked sound dispute resolution processes.
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