NSW manJason Lau claimed he was discriminated against because of his gender and was unable to fully experience Mona after paying his $35 museum entrance fee in April last year.
The women-only Ladies Lounge was created byKirsha Kaechele,the wife of Mona founder David Walsh,and opened in 2020.
The installation,enclosed by plush,green silk curtains,sees female patrons attended to by male butlers and treated to champagne upon entry.
During the case,Mona’s counsel Catherine Scott conceded that the Ladies Lounge was discriminatory – the whole point of the work was to provide equal opportunity for a disadvantaged group,that is,women,who had been historically excluded from many spaces,she said.
Scott argued that by being denied access to the Ladies Lounge,men were indeed experiencing the work and its intent – they were not missing out.
At the heart of Scott’s legal argument was the exception provided by Section 26 of the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998,which states:“A person may discriminate against another person in any program,plan or arrangement designed to promote equal opportunity for a group of people who are disadvantaged or have a special need because of a prescribed attribute.”