It is with great disappointment that I see that the Federal Government has announced a Human Rights Act will not be introduced in Australia. There has been a good deal of debate surrounding the issue – the amount of power given to Judges, the ability of policy makers to chop and change legislation at will as well as whether to instead opt for a Bill of Rights (which would amend the Australian Constitution) and so on. However, it is difficult to deny that the introduction of an Australian Human Rights Act would have changed Australia for the better.
While it may not have completely eradicated legal discrimination against GLBTI people, it would have helped introduce federally consistent laws that would have made discrimination against same-sex attracted and gender-diverse people illegal (at the moment that remains solely the realm of state and territory governments) and ensured that the rights of same-sex attracted and gender- diverse Australians are considered in the creation of new laws, with enforceable penalties for any breaches of human rights in this regard. Still – the government is proposing a $2 million education framework for Human Rights that (hopefully) policy-makers will need to take into consideration when formulating policy, so it’s a start.
And it is with human rights in mind that I remind readers that International Day Against Homophobia is fast approaching. May 17th of this year will be the 20th anniversary of the removal of homosexuality from the World Health Organisation’s list of diseases (Yeah. Only 20 years. Scary.) As a part of the National Year of Action for Equal Marriage, community and activist groups will gather across the country to demand an end to discrimination and a repeal of the 2004 ban on same-sex marriage.
In Perth there will be a gathering in the CBD on May 15th in support of IDAHO and of the removal of legal discrimination against GLBTI people and their families. Jump online and head to www.families4freedom.info for more information.
Kitty Hawkins, GALE Co-Convenor
