Louise Pratt will be celebrated at tonight’s Pride Parade thought the streets of Northbridge. The Labor senator retired in July after announcing she would not recontest the 2025 election.
It brought the curtain down a political career that spanned from student politics to LGBTIQA+ rights advocacy, a historic election to the state parliament, followed by a long career in the federal parliament.
Highlighting Pratt’s achievements will be the focus of the Rainbow Labor float in this year’s parade through the streets of Northbridge.
When Senator Pratt delivered her valedictory speech in parliament back in March she dressed n the colours of the lesbian flag, making her final moment in the politics echo back to where she began fighting for LGBTIQA+ rights in the 1990s as a leading campaigner for law reform in Western Australia.
In the 2001 state election she unexpectedly won a seat in the Western Australian Legislative Council as Labor came to power under Premier Geoff Gallop and ousted the Court Liberal government. She became the youngest woman to be elected to the Upper House.
She played a central role in the 2002 law reforms which saw a complete ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, an equalizing of the age of consent, the removal of legislation that made it illegal to promote homosexuality in schools, while also allowing gay couples the right to adopt and inherit from a deceased partner.
In 2007 Pratt switched to federal politics as a Senator for Western Australia and worked on a wide range of issues in the federal parliament, including the long campaign for marriage equality in Australia.
At the 2013 election Senator Pratt was initially returned, but on a recount she lost, but when it was revealed that some ballot papers had gone missing, the High Court ordered that a new half-Senate only election be held. At the second poll Senator Pratt lost her seat, but she returned at the 2016 election and was successful once again.
Speaking to OUTinPerth ahead of the annual Pride Parade Louise Pratt said that while she missed many of the people she’d got to know in Canberra, she definitely did not miss the constant travel across the country.
“I miss some of the people, and I miss some of the stakeholders too. But I do not miss the travel.” she said emphatically.
“I do not miss, not feeling human.” she adds describing how the travel and time difference between Western Australia and the east coast.
Since returning to Western Australia Pratt has been spending her time building a home office, researching woodwork and has recently started working with the Cancer Council.
“But mostly I’ve just been enjoying family, and getting reacquainted with some of my friends who I haven’t seen enough of.”
“I’ve quite liked going to ground and not having to talk to too many people.” Pratt said with a smile.
Asked what, besides the obvious answer of marriage equality, she considered to be the highlights and memorable stages of her time in politics. Pratt has a long list.
“Anti-discrimination law reform absolutely, even things going back to the McGinty years equal de-facto rights with married couples, and the fact that it was for all heterosexual couples and queer couples, that was really great for not only the queer person in me, but also the feminist in me.”
Pratt notes that before the Western Australian laws were changed women who were not married to their partner would often lose property they had contributed to if a relationship ended. Fixing the laws extended far beyond the LGBTIQA+ community, it benefited everyone.
“Things like that are really powerful, and I’ve seen the very real change that has made to people’s lives.”
Stopping the Morrison government’s attempt to push through their religious freedom bill is also one of the big moments Pratt reflects on.
“They were some pretty tense moments in the senate around that.”
Work on climate change is another highlight, but she also shares her frustration at the rate of progress.
“It’s been done, and then undone, and done and undone, and then done and undone again.” Pratt says of the back and forth debate on how to tackle the challenge.
“Things like that I wish we’d seen more progress on, the rights of children is another area where I wished there had really been more progress as well.
“All of the comings and goings and tragedies around refugees that has been absolutely epic as well. All of the drownings on boats, to before that detention. Today I’m hoping for a sense of optimism. Australia has just welcomed it’s millionth refugee, and there are LGBTIQA+ people making new lives here as part of that.
Her long career saw Pratt spend time in both government and opposition.
“It’s so much better to be in government,” she said. “But its not always as much fun as a backbencher in government.
“Opposition can be really useful for people like me, because we were quite successful in stopping a bunch of regressive things around worker’s rights, religious freedom and a whole range of issues.” Pratt said.
“Ministerial process and cabinet processes can make it hard sometime for you to have your say.” Pratt said.
“It’s a good time to have left parliament.” Pratt said noting the strong majority Labor has on both a state and federal level, but she also points to across the political spectrum there are more LGBTIQA+ people than ever before.
” I fell like out community is represented and I hope in the future it will continue to be. In the Labor party queer people are present in all party forums.”
Asked what advice she’d give to an LGBTIQA+ person considering a political career, Pratt is encouraging.
“You should give it a go – absolutely.” she said. “But they way to do it is to really just start participating. I never became political to become a politician. I started out of my concern for a whole range of issues, really starting a student, and as a queer person, and then as a unionist.”
As she prepares to be honoured by her party colleagues in the Pride Parade, Pratt said it felt “really weird”.
“I’m not always someone who wants the spotlight, but I’m taking it in good grace and I’ll enjoy the night.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of comrades I haven’t seen in recent months, and there so many people in Rainbow Labor who made an extraordinary difference, so I’m very honoured.”
