[Content warning: homophobia; violence; suicidal ideation] I realised I was same-gender attracted on my first day at a religious boarding school in Brisbane in the 1990s. It was terrible timing, and meant my high school experience there was a living hell. This was a school that was proud to publish its homophobia in its school rules – homosexuality would not be tolerated because it was not in accordance with god’s will. It was abundantly clear that ‘coming out’ as gay was simply not an option. To do so would likely be met with punishment. And so I didn’t. At its worst, I vividly recall a schoo ..read more

[I wrote this piece about 10 days ago, in the lead-up to the anniversary of the horrific events at Victorian Parliament in March last year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t picked up by media outlets – but the past week has made these comments even more urgent, so I am publishing it here.] One year ago last Monday (on Saturday 18 March 2023), Australians witnessed the horrific sight of neo-Nazis turning up to an anti-trans rally on the steps of Victorian Parliament, holding a banner saying ‘destroy paedo freaks’ and performing Nazi salutes. It was a chilling reminder of the serious threat posed by rig ..read more

Right now, the NSW Government is consulting the community about whether to introduce new commemorative birth certificates, with proposed themes including ‘AFL, Olympic and Astrology Zodiac’ (yes, seriously). At the same time, trans and gender diverse people in NSW continue to endure the most regressive birth certificate laws of any state or territory in Australia, which require people seeking to update their identity documents to first undergo genital surgery – something many do not want, and even more cannot afford. It is offensive that I might be able to access an astrology-themed birth cert ..read more

Commonwealth Parliament passed the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013 ten years ago today. This was historic legislation, finally offering federal anti-discrimination protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Australians.[i] And it was long overdue, more than 30 years after NSW became the first jurisdiction in Australia to prohibit discrimination on the basis of homosexuality, way back in 1982. But, even at the time of passage it was clear these Sex Discrimination Act amendments were ..read more

In 2015 and 2018, under then-Leader Bill Shorten, the Australian Labor Party adopted national party platforms with wide-ranging policy commitments on LGBTIQ issues. These helped to inform the promises taken to the federal elections in the following years, which were similarly-broad in scope. In 2021, the ALP, under Shorten’s replacement Anthony Albanese, adopted a much more narrowly-drafted party platform, which involved jettisoning some previously-held LGBTIQ policies (although a few of these were restored via conference resolutions from the floor). This was then reflected in an relatively na ..read more

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the election of the federal Albanese Labor Government. Looking back on those first 12 months, there have been some small but important wins, and some disappointing losses. But above all, there has been plenty of unfinished – and in many cases, un-started – business. First, to the wins. In November last year, as part of the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022reforms, the Government added gender identity and intersex status as protected attributes in relation to the Fair Work Act’s adverse action and unlawful termination provis ..read more

Yes, I acknowledge it’s early April (and a lot has already happened this year, including Better Together in Adelaide, Sydney World Pride, TERF tours, neo-Nazi rallies, Christian Lives Matter riots and Mark Latham being, well, Mark Latham ie a homophobic and transphobic bigot). But there’s still plenty of 2023 yet to come. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to set out what I think are, or should be, some of the law reform priorities for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community in Australia. Ending non-consenting surgeries and other h ..read more

This week saw the 100-day milestone for the new Albanese Labor Government, with lots of attention on issues like climate change, a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption, a referendum to create a constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament, and of course the Jobs and Skills Summit (which I have written about here, and here). One issue that has received comparatively little focus, but which will be considered by the Senate next week (beginning 5 September), is the possible creation of a Commissioner for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LG ..read more

Last Sunday, I posted about the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit, and the inclusion (or, at that stage, exclusion) of issues affecting LGBTIQ workers. This included a letter to Prime Minister Albanese, Treasurer Chalmers, and seven of their ministerial colleagues, calling on them to include consideration of two matters in particular that affect LGBTIQ people in the workplace: The absence of explicit protections for trans, gender diverse and intersex employees in the Fair Work Act 2009(Cth), and The breadth of exceptions, in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) and elsewhere, al ..read more

The Albanese Labor Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit will be held on September 1 and 2, 2022, now just eleven days away. While there has been significant coverage of a wide range of issues relevant to this conference, there has been little to no reporting of how it will affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) workers. The letter below, to Prime Minister Albanese, Treasurer Chalmers and a number of other Ministers, seeks to place at least two important and urgent LGBTIQ policy matters onto the Jobs and Skills Summit agenda. As always, I will publish any respons ..read more