Australian public servants discouraged from using terms "husband" and "wife"

Government workers in the Australian state of Victoria are being discouraged from using the terms "husband" and "wife" in a new guide to help politicians and other public servants communicate with members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

Public servants will also be encouraged to use "gender neutral" pronouns; instead of saying his or hers, or she or he, government workers should instead use all-encompassing pronouns "zie" and "hir."

Called the Inclusive Language Guide, Victoria's Equality Minister Martin Foley described it as "one of the ways in which (the government) is addressing and eradicating homophobia, biphobia and transphobia" in the community.

The guide was developed by an LGBTI "taskforce" made up of politicians, academics and members of the LGBTI community, who determined it was important to use inclusive language to "promote safer spaces" for those who need it.

"It is important to challenge our thinking beyond the binary constructs of male and female," the guide says.

"Some people may identify as agender (having no gender), bigender (both a woman and a man) or non-binary (neither woman nor man)."

However the move hasn't been popular with all in the community; the Centre for Independent Studies' Jeremy Sammut said the government risks alienating voters who are more concerned with issues which affect a greater proportion of the community, while opposition spokesperson Tim Smith described the guide as "minority fundamentalism gone berserk." Endit