Labor's draft anti-bias bill slated as nation's worst / Croome predicts "Gay marriage ban mk II"

These LGBT media releases were issued by the TGLRG on July 10th 2006.

Tasmanian LGBT activists have criticised Federal Labor's draft Sexuality Discrimination Bill for falling below the standards set by similar state legislation.

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Jen Van Achteren, said that it is counterproductive to enact national sexuality and gender identity anti-bias laws if they provide less protection than current state laws.

"One of the primary roles of national anti-discrimination law is to set high national standards for fair treatment and compensate for the gaps in state law", Ms Van Achteren said.

"But Federal Labor's draft bill is so full of exemptions that it will have the opposite effect of encouraging religious groups to demand more exemptions in state legislation."

"This Bill is an insult to the LGBT community, and must either be redrafted or dumped."

Ms Van Achteren highlighted automatic exemptions for religious organisations, limited protection for transgender people, failure to prohibit bias on the grounds of relationship status, and the absence of incitement to hatred provisions, as examples of where Labor's Bill falls down.

"While Labor's proposed anti-harassment and anti-violence provisions appear quite strong, this is no compensation for a law which, overall, is the nation's worst."

Ms Van Achteren went on to question why Labor proposes to enshrine in law a two-year waiting period for an audit of discriminatory national legislation.

"State Governments have been able to perform this task in a matter of days."

"Labor must take LGBT people for fools if it expects us to quietly wait two years from the time it is elected for it produce a list which community groups have already mostly assembled."

"This looks suspiciously like an attempt to put same-sex couple rights off to Labor's second term."

For more information contact Jen Van Achteren on 0401 054 003.

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Prominent LGBT human rights activists, Rodney Croome, has predicted the Federal Government will amend the Marriage Act in the lead up to the 2007 election to prevent states recognising same-sex civil unions.

Croome, who correctly predicted the 2004 Marriage Act amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage in national law, as well as the recent override of the ACT's Civil Union Act, told last week's Queer Collaborations Conference in Sydney that a powerful faction within the Liberal Party is pushing a second anti-gay marriage amendment, and that Government leaders are likely to embrace the idea to win crucial Senate preferences.

"Banning state civil unions is crucial to the Government's strategy of retaining Family First preferences while winning back its support base", Mr Croome said.

"Far from being an isolated, one-off concession to prejudice, the 2004 same-sex marriage ban was the start of a crusade against the formal recognition of same-sex relationships that will last until the Liberal Party is weaned off its electoral obsession with the religious right."

Mr Croome urged LGBT community leaders to prepare for what he dubbed "the Gay Marriage Ban Mk II".

"The silver lining of any attempt to ban state civil unions will be a wide-ranging debate on same-sex relationships which will positively impact on community attitudes if it is lead and shaped by LGBT people themselves."

For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668.