22 June 2023 – National LGBTIQ+ group Equality Australia today urged all members of NSW Parliament to back reforms that will remove legal discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people.
Independent MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich on Thursday notified parliament of his proposed equality legislation, with three separate bills to be tabled in the coming months.
The reforms include banning conversion practices, allowing trans and non-binary people to update their gender on state identification without the need for surgery, and protecting intersex people from unnecessary medical interventions until they can decide for themselves.
Before the state election, both Labor and Coalition committed to banning LGBTQA+ conversion practices.
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said it was time for NSW to catch-up with the rest of Australia on these long overdue reforms.
“We have the best chance in a generation to ensure all LGBTIQ+ people in NSW can live free from discrimination and harm,” she said.
“We are urging all NSW parliamentarians to support these reforms that will remove legal discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people, once and for all.”
Ms Brown said NSW had a special place in the history of LGBTIQ+ equality.
“NSW is the state where the trailblazing 78ers bravely stepped out of the bars and into the streets in protest for the first Sydney Mardi Gras but we have failed to progress full equality for LGBTIQ+ people and right now we are falling behind the rest of the nation,” she said.
“LGBTQA+ conversion practices remain legal in NSW and religious schools and other organisations can still discriminate against LGBTQ+ students, teachers and people accessing services.
“Intersex people still don’t have a say about medical procedures performed on their bodies and NSW is one of the last remaining states where trans and gender diverse people face cruel and unnecessary barriers when accessing ID documents that recognise them for who they are,” she concluded.
Media contact: Tara Ravens 0408 898 154, tara.ravens@equalityaustralia.org.au
