On behalf of the Tasmanian Greens, I am deeply proud to release draft legislation to ban sexual and gender orientation conversion practices in Tasmania.
Tasmania has come such a long way in protecting the rights of LGBTIQA+ people since homosexuality was finally decriminalised in 1997. However, there is still more important work to be done. One of the glaring major areas where reform is needed is that conversion practices remain legal.
Conversion practices are attempts to change, suppress, or eradicate people’s sexuality and gender identity. These practices are deeply problematic and harmful and can cause devastating long-term consequences for LGBTIQA+ people.
In 2022 the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute released a report detailing the current and ongoing issue of conversion practices in Tasmania and made recommendations for a ban on this conduct. At the end of 2023 the Rockliff Government released legislation in this area. Unfortunately, that bill was profoundly flawed and as such was widely criticised by advocates, survivors, and many MPs across the Parliament.
At the 2024 state election the Greens made a commitment to Tasmanians that if the government did not progress appropriate legislation to ban conversion practices, we would work on this issue ourselves. Across the past two years we have worked with legal experts, LGBTIQA+ advocates, and people with lived experience to develop our own bill.
After a comprehensive and detailed process working with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel through thirteen previous drafts, we are now proud to present legislation to the Tasmanian community. We are inviting people to have their say on the bill to ensure it is as robust and widely supported as possible.
The priority of this bill is to stop conversion practices and the harm they cause from happening in the first place by establishing a prevention framework overseen by the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. However, we recognise this alone isn’t enough. Like in other areas of law, there needs to be consequences for people who disregard the rules and who cause harm to others. As such, the legislation creates a range of criminal offences relating to the actions of undertaking and promoting conversion practices.
Given the proud record of advocacy from both Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Opposition Leader Josh Willie, and the significant number of champions for equality across both houses of Parliament, we are hopeful this legislation can be a unifying moment and a powerful demonstration of support for LGBTIQA+ Tasmanians. However, we are not taking for granted that it will pass and will be engaging closely with MPs as we seek to progress the bill.
It’s well past time for Tasmania to join mainland states in finally banning conversion practices. This is an essential step in continuing to make Tasmania a safer, kinder, fairer and more inclusive place for all people.
We look forward to hearing perspectives from the community, stakeholders, and other MPs on this important legislation, and are committed to working collaboratively to progress it through the Parliament.
The bill, supporting materials, and submission portal can be found here: https://cppbilltas.org/
