- New South Wales in the latest state to pass laws which ban conversion therapy
- Rights advocates are concerned about the lack of action in Western Australia
- Campaigning against a WA ban is in full swing
As New South Wales passes its long awaited ban on conversion therapy, there is concern that Western Australia will become a haven for the dubious suppression and change practices.
WA spokesperson for Just.Equal, Brian Greig, said there were important lessons for Western Australia’s campaigners in the NSW outcome.
“The first thing to note is that WA has become more isolated on this issue. Our state has become a haven for those who peddle this harmful activity. With bans now in place in NSW, Vic, ACT, Queensland and New Zealand, WA is evolving into a safe haven for these insidious practices. The issue is now urgent.
“Second, it is critical that proposed WA legislation includes a robust Civil Scheme in line with models in Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand.
Greig said the legislation being introduced in other jurisdictions differed wildly, and it is essential Western Australia learns from what has been effective.
“Victoria, the ACT, and New Zealand all have legislation that centres civil processes, not just criminal penalties, including proactive education, investigative powers, an obligation to receive a broad range of reports, and potential for fines and redress via Civil Tribunals.
“The NSW Act has similar powers, but with a narrower range of civil processes. Without a robust Civil Scheme, any conversion legislation will be too weak to be effective.” Greig said.
The rights group is concerned that yet-to-be-seen WA legislation will fall short of community expectations.
“Just.Equal understands that Attorney General Quigley has indicated the Cook Government’s Bill may not include a Civil Scheme. If true, it’s a huge flaw that will lead to disastrous outcomes and must be rejected.” Greig said.
The rights group also suggests an important lesson to be learned from the NSWQ process is the importance of extensive consultation, especially with the victims of the practice.
“As good as the NSW legislation is, there was room for improvement but this was dismissed by the Minns Government. Not because proposed amendments were unnecessary, but because the government left it too late to consult properly with survivor experts and researchers. In WA, it will be critical when framing our legislation that the voices of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGICE) Survivors are listened to and not sidelined.”
Greig called on the Cook Government to pledge detailed reform before the 2025 election that included clear definitions and a robust Civil Scheme that reflects the standard set by Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand.
Read the SOGICE Survivor Statement
The SOGICE Survivor statement is written by survivors of the LGBTQA+ Conversion movement and their allies, and endorsed by advocates, organisations and community groups that support, or are led by, LGBTIQA+ people of faith.
The statement calls on Australian Governments to join a growing number of jurisdictions across the world by intervening to stop the LGBTQA+ Conversion movement from harming LGBTQA+ Australians.
Survivors say preventative civil schemes essential
Advocacy group SOGICE Survivors was successful in pushing for broader reporting functions which were included in Civil Schemes in Victoria and New Zealand. However, the NSW complaints function will lack the third party reporting and preventive functions of the civil schemes in those jurisdictions.
Chris Csabs from SOGICE Survivors said he looks forward to working with the NSW Government during implementation and review to ensure the civil scheme can reach the ‘gold standard’ set in Victoria and New Zealand.
“It is incredibly rare for survivors to reach the level of mental health and confidence to commence a complaint process or engage sufficiently with a body to represent them. Extensive research makes it clear that an external third-party reporting function, such as in the Victorian legislation, is a vital part of preventing harm,” he said.
Nathan Despott from SOGICE Survivors said that what has been achieved in NSW is quite remarkable considering the complex history of conversion practices in NSW and the relatively fast process employed by the NSW Government.
“If we were to give Victoria and New Zealand a 9/10 score for their models, we would give the ACT a 7/10, NSW a 6/10, and Queensland a 2/10.
“The extreme pressures and timelines that we saw in NSW need not apply in WA, SA, and Tasmania, so we look forward to those states developing strong models.” Despott said.
Concerns over practices occurring in Western Australia
While opponents of legal bans often claim that conversion therapy is a practice that happened in the past, and there is little evidence of it occurring in today’s society, Western Australia is one jurisdiction where it has occurred in recent years.
In 2022 the WA government made a commitment to bring in laws after a report was tabled in parliament relating to practices that took place in The Esther Foundation, a facility that claimed to treat young women for alcohol and drug use and mental health concerns.
Then premier Mark McGowan was praised by local LGBTIQA+ groups for taking decisive action on the issue. But to date no legislation has been brought forth in the parliament. The government has been looking into the issue since 2017.
Action on conversion therapy is just one of a raft of LGBTIQA+ related legislation that is reportedly on the government’s agenda, but not obviously progressing. Removing the Gender Reassignment Board, tackling surrogacy laws and updating equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws all appear to be in the same ‘wait till later’ tray.
Concern about WA being a safe haven for questionable practices was first raised back in 2021. WA based organisation True Identity, who offer counselling services to people who want to deal with ‘unwanted same sex attraction’, were lobbying the government to resist bringing in conversion therapy bans, and reported that people were coming to WA to escape the laws in other states,
The group is led by prominent activist James Parker who claims he was able to leave behind a gay lifestyle through prayer and counselling.
In interviews Parker has detailed that he was able to stop acting on homosexual impulses after uncovering repressed memories of his childhood sexual abuse. In more recent interviews Parker has shared recollections where he describes how he dealt with gender incongruence which he says stems from how he was dressed in his childhood.
Parker was a prominent member of the campaign against marriage equality claiming that gay sex leads to an early death, and has compared conversion therapy bans to the Nazi Gestapo, and the Stasi secret police – who operated in communist East Germany.
He regularly appears alongside former Liberal MLA Peter Abetz, who is now the WA Director of the Australian Christian Lobby. After a series of appearances in the lead up to the marriage postal survey, Parker and Abetz toured their ‘Real Lives’ presentation to several Western Australian towns. Their appearances in Albany and Geraldton drew protests.
Australian Christian Lobby announces new tour with James Parker
This week the Australian Christian Lobby announced a new touring event dubbed ‘Momentum’ which will have a focus on a Christian view of sexuality and gender.
On the bill is Parker who will share his views on gender ideology in classrooms, while Abetz will speak about his concerns over Christian heritage disappearing due to Marxist influence. They will be joined by Maryka Groenewald from the Australian Christians political party who will speak about Christian schools and Geoff Westlake from World View Australia.
The 10-date church tour will head to Kalgoorlie, Katanning, Albany, Geraldton, Warnbro, Canningvale and Woodvale.
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Lifeline: 13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au
Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 / www.beyondblue.org.au
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