ճEquality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2024finally passed the New South Wales Legislative Council on October 17, albeit with reduced protections for LGBTIQ people to appease Labor.
The bill passed 15 votes to 12, with the majority of Coalition MPs voting against it. Liberal MP Felicity Wilson crossed the floor to support the bill.
Following months of stagnation and four deferrals, independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich finally secured Premier Chris Minns’ support by removing more than 35 pages of reform.
The measures not included were changes to theAnti-Discrimination Act, that would have extended protections for gay men and lesbians to bisexual, non-binary and gender diverse people. Protections for sex workers were also dropped, and will be looked at under a separate review of the Summary Offences Act.
Greenwichhe wasunhappyabout some amendments being removed, but did not want to hold up other reforms. “There has been a concerted campaign, particularly by some religious organisations, and I’m not wanting to hold up some urgent reforms while we’re still working this through.”
Among the scrapped reforms was the removal, from theAnti-Discrimination Act, ofthe legal exemption for religious institutions to expel or fire LGBTIQ students or staff. This would have affected 200,000 students and nearly 40,000 teachers working in private schools.
Greenwich said he scrapped those amendments because the NSW Law Reform Commission (NSWLRC) is, something he hopes will pave the way for protections for LGBTIQ students and teachers in private schools.
His bill, introduced last June, aimed to ratify protections for LGBTIQ people (with specific focus on trans individuals rights) and bring NSW into line with the rest of the country.
NSW was the last state to force transgender people to undergo gender-affirming surgery to update their identification documents.
include: updating theMental Health Act 2007to clarify that not identifying with a person’s gender at birth does not indicate mental illness; updating outdated terminology regarding HIV/AIDS; making hatred or prejudice against trans or gender diverse people an aggravating factor in sentencing; adding domestic violence protections for members of the LGBTIQ community; and making it an offense to “out” someone.
Labor announced it would establish the LGBTIQ+ Advisory Council. This had been recommended by the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, whoseurged the government to pass the whole equality bill.
Responses to the stripped-back bill have been varied. Some have embraced the pared-down protections gained for LGBTIQ people, while others have criticised Greenwich for bending to conservative, anti-LGBTIQ influences.
NSW Greens education spokesperson Tamara Smith said the Greens would “welcome and will support the few, but vital, remaining reforms in the Equality Bill”.
However, Smith, a former secondary school teacher, said the “most significant piece of reform” was “missing in action”. Smith said it is “very hard to believe that discrimination based on who you are as a teacher or student or staff member in a private school in this day and age is legal!”
It sends a very clear message to students, teachers and staff who are not straight that “their right to work and attend school free of discrimination can only occur at the discretion of their employer”.
Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong also criticised the reduced bill saying it “leave[s] the queer community vulnerable”.
The Independent Education Union (IEU), representing teachers and staff of non-government schools,and cast doubt on the NSWLRC’s review of theAnti-Discrimination Actas a replacement.
“There are no guarantees this long-running review will recommend protections for teachers and school staff in faith-based schools,” Carol Matthews, IEU NSW/ACT Branch Secretary, said.“Nor is there any guarantee the NSW government will legislate any recommendations arising from the review.”
Protest and community action group Pride in Protest (PiP), saying it is “not the Equality Bill anymore”.
“Any bill that leaves glaring exemptions for hate and discrimination, are simply not good enough,” said PiP spokesperson Dashie Prasad. Winning some protections is welcome, but not at the expense of “leaving young people, sex workers, students and teachers behind”.
Greenwich said the entire bill could have been voted down, or “12 urgent reforms” were delivered.
The NSWLCR review of theAnti-Discrimination Acthas received just under 100 submissions from invested parties — LGBTIQ organisations and religious institutions. But there is no timeline for the report to be released, or any indication of its recommendations.