OPINION
Conrad Liveris (he/him) is a board member of Rainbow Futures WA and Chair of WAAC.
Harvey Milk, the iconic gay activist of the 1970s, once said “rights are won only by those who make their voices heard”.
We have seen this spirit live on across the queer community in WA over time, like the decriminalisation of gay sex in 1990 and the historic Acts Amendment (Gay and Lesbian Law Reform) Act 2002, which reformed a range of laws relating to same-gender families.
The establishment of a defined advocacy body for the queer community in WA has always made sense to me. Various groups have always worked on issues relevant to their communities, but a centralised, coordinated and clear advocacy group has long been required.
For Rainbow Futures WA (RFWA) to be funded for this work is a milestone for our community. Since 2019, and even in earlier forums, RFWA has coordinated and supported advocacy for our community. This has been done entirely by volunteers with no financial resources. It is remarkable what has been achieved over this period.
Most importantly, RFWA has facilitated connection between WA LGBTIQA+ community groups to work together strategically. The work on gender recognition reform has seen the recent passing of amendments to the WA Births, Deaths and Marriage Act that will make things easier for many trans and gender diverse people. The “Rainbow Portfolio” proposal laid the foundation for the WA LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Strategy, and secured government funding for Living Proud WA, TransFolk of WA, and GRAI.
The development of RFWA has always been community-led, and it always will be. The coalition of member organisations, and soon individuals, gives it strength and legitimacy around decision-making tables that create a fairer place for our community. The power of a strong, coordinated community voice cannot be underestimated.
Our governance and operating structures have been refined over time to be responsive to issues as they arise, while considering core community needs alongside our legal and regulatory requirements. One of the great joys of working with RFWA is that there is no shortage of people and organisations wanting to assist us. We are well-supported by high-quality independent advice which means we can best achieve progress.
Of course, not everyone agrees with everything RFWA does. Uniformity is anathema to the queer community. That is good, because total agreement would be unhealthy and not push us to refine our positions and achieve the outcomes our community needs and wants.
Resource constraints will mean that RFWA still won’t be able to do everything, and choices will need to be made on our priorities. That will be guided by our members and you, as the community. We will continue to encourage individuals and other organisations to do their own advocacy, and provide support where we can. RFWA aspires to enable more advocacy and engagement on the issues facing our community, not less.
RFWA is unrelentingly focused on the best interests of our community, seeking to achieve progress every day.
It is a new dawn for Western Australia, one which will achieve more for the queer community than our forebears could have ever imagined.
There is only one word to describe this moment: exciting.
