Key Points
Tasmanian Labor has a proud history of supporting LGBTQIA+ equality and diversity, and a Rebecca White Labor Government will build on this to ensure Tasmania continues to be a welcoming and inclusive state for people of all sexualities and gender identities.
Labor’s plan will:
- Have a Minister for Equality
- Ban conversion practices
- Fund Equality Tasmania
- Deliver an LGBTQIA+ Framework and action plan
- Increase funding for LGBTQIA+ service delivery and support
- Bring in new provisions to address hate crime
Why we need it
Under a Labor Government, Tasmania went from being the most backwards jurisdictions when it comes to LGBTIQA+ rights to one of the most inclusive and supportive.
“A Rebecca White Labor Government will tackle the causes of crime to reduce offending and make our communities safer places to live and work”
Labor recognises the diversity and strength of the LGBTIQA+ community in Tasmania as well as the service organisations and advocacy bodies who have worked so hard for change over many decades.
The details
A Labor Government will:
1. Appoint a Minister for Equality
Labor has been proud to have a Shadow Ministry for Equality in opposition and a Rebecca White Labor Government will appoint a Minister for Equality to ensure LGBTQIA+ communities have a loud and tangible voice within Government.
2. Fund Equality Tasmania
Labor in Government will formally recognise Equality Tasmania as a Peak Body and provide $300,000 in annual recurrent funding. ET has been at the forefront of LGBTQIA+ rights in Tasmania for decades and should be rightly recognised and facilitated to continue this important work.
3. Ban conversion practices
A Labor Government will finally ban conversion practices. Tasmania is now an outlier in not having a true ban on these practices which inflict lifelong harm and trauma.
Labor will scrap the Liberals’ current draft bill, because it would make the delivery of conversion practices more widespread. We will work with community on a model that truly bans conversion practices and removes Tasmanian LGBTIQA+ people from the harm they cause.
4. Increase funding for LGBTQIA+ service delivery and support
Labor will provide sustainable and consistent funding for Working It Out with an extra $95,000 per year on their existing base grant, to continue working with schools and families to advocate for and support LGBTQIA+ Tasmanians.
5. Deliver an LGBTQIA+ Framework and Action Plan
A Rebecca White Labor Government will deliver on the LGBTQIA+ Framework and Action Plan that has begun under this Government.
As part of this Action Plan, we will work towards delivering a dedicated health and mental clinic for LGBTQIA+ Tasmanians. We recognise that dedicated health and mental health services are much needed and wanted by the community and we will work with community in government to deliver them.
This work will also consider an LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Act.
Labor will also maintain and strengthen the LGBTIQA+ working groups across government agencies.
6. Address hate motivated crimes
Labor recognises that hate motivated crimes occur far too often in Tasmania. Labor will introduce new offences to the Police Offences Act and Criminal Code so police can charge offenders with offences that recognise that the offending was motivated by homophobia, transphobia, racism or disability discrimination. We will also amend the Sentencing Act to allow courts to consider homophobia and transphobia as aggravating factors (where currently the Act only allows racial hatred to be considered).
7. Expungement of historical offences
It is a shameful part of our history as a state that people were charged with criminal offences for homosexuality – it was not removed from the Criminal Code until 1997. People who were convicted of these historic offences can now apply to have those offences ‘expunged’ and removed from their record. Labor supports the need for a system of financial redress for people affected and will work with community in government to deliver this.
8. Other related policy
A Labor Government will also:
- Legislate for a Human Rights Act.
- Protect and defend our Anti-Discrimination Act.
- Protect and defend our Births Deaths and Marriages Act.
- Retain the LGBTIQA+ Community fund.