Equality Tasmania has hailed the election result as a victory of fairness over discrimination.
The group has welcomed increased votes for candidates who opposed the Religious Discrimination Bill and the defeat of candidates who championed transgender exclusion.
Spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said many people were relieved the Morrison government had been defeated.
“Many Tasmanians will breath a sigh of relief that Scott Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill, which would have overridden and weakened Tasmania’s gold-standard Anti-Discrimination Act, is now off the table with the election of a Labor Government.”
“The increased vote for Bridget Archer in Bass, despite an Australian Christian Lobby campaign against her triggered by her opposition to the Religious Discrimination Bill, shows that Tasmanians reject the politics of division and discrimination.”
“We urge Senator Claire Chandler to drop her Bill excluding transgender women from women’s sport following the thumping defeat of Katherine Deves who championed the same cause as a candidate in the Sydney seat of Warringah.”
“Many transgender Tasmanians and their allies will also welcome the success of transgender woman, and sports inclusion advocate, Jade Darko, who increased the Greens’ vote in Franklin, showing many Tasmanians welcome the opportunity to vote for transgender candidates.”
Croome said the defeat of Senator Eric Abetz will also be welcomed by many LGBTIQA+ people across the nation.
“Senator Abetz was a strident opponent of every step towards LGBTIQA+ equality and we welcome the election of Tammy Tyrrell, a supporter of the LGBTIQA+ community, to take his place.”
“The message from this election is that Tasmanians want fairness not discrimination, inclusion not prejudice.”
“Equality Tasmania will take that message to state and federal governments in the hope of removing continued discrimination against LGBTIQA+ Tasmanians.” Croome said.
Longstanding Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz was bumped down the Liberal party’s senate ticket putting him in an unwinnable spot. Senator Abetz joined the parliament via a casual vacancy in 1994 and was elected in his own right at the 1998 election. He was successfully re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
He served as Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation and as a Special Minister of State i nthe Howard government, and as Minister for Employment in the Abbott government. When Malcolm Turnbull toppled Abbott in a leadership challenge, Abetz was dropped from the ministry and returned to the backbench.
Senator Abetz was a vocal campaigner against marriage equality and LGBTIQA+ rights.
OIP Staff
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