Michael Mischin now supports removing historical convictions

Western Australia’s Attorney General Michael Mischin has spoken about the government’s work towards remove historical convictions for gay offences.

Mischin told RTRFM’s The Mag that he was preparing a proposal for cabinet to consider.

The AG said he’d personally changed his stance on how the issue should be addressed.

Previously Mischin had brushed off calls for the government to take action arguing that those who had historical convictions could apply for a spent conviction.

“Certainly for a long time I considered that the spent convictions act could help provide the kind of remedy people were thinking about but I’ve come to a different view since then.”

Mischin told host Kylie Sturgess that while Western Australia would not be the first state to take action, it would get the benefit of seeing how schemes in other jurisdictions had worked effectively.

Last week Mischin co-hosted a Pride at Parliament event alongside Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren, Labor’s Stephen Dawson and the Nationals’ Shane Love. The AG told a group of community leaders that he was committed to drafting effective legislation.

The Barnett government’s action on the issue comes after Rainbow Rights WA launched a petition calling for change and Opposition leader Mark McGowan declared that a Labor government would take action on the issue.

OIP Staff