Advocacy group Just Equal Australia has expressed concern at the failure of Premier Cook to pledge specific LGBTIQA+ law reforms if re-elected next March.
Earlier this year, Just-Equal wrote to the Premier asking him to clarify seven areas of much needed law reform. These included discrimination against teachers and students in faith schools; discrimination against staff and clients in faith-based services; hate-speech; conversion practices; gender identity; surrogacy and Intersex reform.
The Premier declined to respond and passed the pledge documents to Attorney General Quigley who wrote to Just.Equal last week.
WA spokesperson, Brian Greig, said the responses from the Attorney General were mostly vague, inconclusive or absent.
Faith Schools and Services
Greig said on the issue of discrimination against LGBTIQA+ teachers and students, Just.Equal had asked if protections would include those enrolling at school and applying for jobs – not just for existing teachers and students. Attorney General John Quigley did not answer the question.
“Equally, on the issue of discrimination in faith-based services, Just.Equal asked if those seeking employment or volunteer opportunities would be protected. Again, Mr Quigley did not answer the question.” Greig said.
Hate speech
Just.Equal asked the Premier if promised hate speech laws would be more expansive, perhaps adopting a better model such as in NSW or Tasmania which allows for claims of harmful speech through civil action?
“Mr Quigley replied, saying that the draft of a new Equal Opportunity Act was still underway and would include provision for wider anti-vilification laws, however, he did not answer the question about a bifurcated model that allows redress for harmful speech and not only incitement to hatred,’ Greig said.
Gender identity
Just.Equal focused on what it says is a fundamental flaw with the current Quigley Bill to reform gender laws, namely that it continues to impose a medical model of “approval” that denies trans folk the right to self-identify.
“We asked the Premier if a re-elected Cook Government would upgrade the Act to allow for self-identify in line with most other states. Mr Quigley responded by saying no, but he noted that the section of the current legislation dealing with ‘appropriate clinical treatment’ can be reviewed after three years. Of course, that doesn’t justify the current inequality or mean anything will change.”
Brian Greig said it was also very concerning to see Quigley repeating ‘TERF talking points,’ by referring to “safeguards against non-genuine applications for gender identity”.
“This just reinforces anti-trans tropes about gender diverse people being fraudulent or a threat. Such comments are unworthy of Labor Attorney General.
“We also asked if the Cook Government would allow parents the option not to have the sex of a child printed on the birth certificate, a choice already available in Tasmania. Mr Quigley did not answer the question, saying only that the current Bill does not deal with that. Mr Quigley did not say if the government supported the idea or might deal with it separately.
Conversion practices
Just.Equal asked the Premier three specific questions including if the government would ban conversion practices, if the ban would include both medical and religious settings and if Labor would rule-out exemptions to a ban being sought by church groups to allow conversion practices to continue if they are conducted with ‘religious belief’, ‘parental guidance’, ‘assistance’, ‘support’ and ‘consent’.
Greig said Quigley’s answers were at best “confused.”
“Mr Quigley said that yes, the government was progressing legislation, and it would include criminal prohibition and a civil response scheme. However, Mr Quigley did not address the issue of whether the Bill would cover religious settings and said nothing to rule out exemptions.
“Strangely, his formal response says:
“We will engage closely with stakeholders and monitor the progress of proposed commonwealth reforms, ahead of introducing legislation in 2025.”
“This comment is just bizarre, because there are no commonwealth reforms in this area to monitor.
“If Mr Quigley is thinking of the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill (which dealt with schools and not conversion practices), his office seems to be unaware that Prime Minister Albanese dumped that proposal prior to this letter being sent to Just.Equal.
“As a consequence, not only is this response confusing two different issues, but the claims being made are now redundant,” Brian Greig said.
Surrogacy
“This was the only issue on which the government was very clear. Yes, a re-elected Cook Government was committed to ending discrimination within surrogacy laws.
Intersex
Just Equal asked if the Premier would pledge to ban non-consenting surgery on intersex infants. Just.Equal say Mr Quigley did not answer the question.
Concern over long delays on long promised reforms
Greig said the LGBTIQA+ community still had a lot of work to do to get Labor MPs and candidates to pledge specific reforms without “hiding behind vagaries and waffle”.
“Every candidate must be questioned on these six key points and asked to sign a pledge. Without a clear mandate on specific reforms before the election, a returned Cook Government will be much harder to hold to account.
“The history of state Labor governments over the last 20 years has been that if they do not articulate clear LGBTIQA+ policy before the election, they do not address those issues after the election.
“To date, the McGowan/Cook government has weakened or abandoned law reform despite controlling both houses of parliament. Getting it to act after the election will be harder if it claims it doesn’t have a policy mandate, or loses control of the Upper House,” Greig said.
