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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-06-22 Daily Xml
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Motions

LGBTIQ Community

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (16:03): I move:

That this council—

1. Expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the recent horrific mass shooting in Orlando, Florida; and

2. Stands together with the LGBTIQ community around the world to condemn such a senseless act of violence and denounce all forms of discrimination that may contribute to such hatred.

Like many in this chamber, on Monday 13 June I awoke to the news of the tragic mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The level of carnage was hard to fathom. Forty-nine innocent people were dead and over 50 injured in what was a horrific massacre. This was the worst mass shooting in US history.

This was an act of hatred and terror that was focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community. It clearly targeted this community because of their sexuality. It again shows us the prejudice and hatred that surrounds homosexuality and demonstrates that this hatred is still very much alive. It shows us the tragic consequences of that homophobia. None of us can imagine the sheer terror that the victims would have felt simply because they came from the LGBTIQ community or were associated with it. The perpetrator was a sick and deranged individual.

I am saddened to say that the prejudice and hatred that led to the Orlando tragedy is alive and well in some sections of our community here in Australia. In talking to a gay friend of mine in the past few days, he confirmed to me, with his own experience, how prejudice breeds hate. He recalls how, when he was young, he was savagely attacked one night on his way home. That attack left him with three broken teeth and damage to facial nerves that still affect him to this day. He suffered mental flashbacks of the incident for over six months. A positive outcome, thankfully, was that it gave him the determination to work even harder to stop the prejudice and discrimination that he and others in the LGBTIQ community face every day.

Returning to Orlando, one thing that was particularly disappointing was the response of the Republican presumptive nominee to the US presidency, Donald Trump. His vilification of the Muslim community as a result of the Orlando tragedy was uncalled for and shows why he would be a disaster as the notional leader of the free world. His words breed prejudice and hatred and it ultimately leads to violence. I notice that he did not suggest that the radical Christians should be banned from immigrating to the United States, even when an anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church sought to protest at the funerals of some of the Orlando massacre victims. Now we hear that a Florida prosecutor, Kenneth Lewis, has been suspended by the state's attorney's office over an offensive Facebook rant posted just after the Orlando massacre. Yes, sadly homophobia is alive and well, Mr President.

Another way prejudice is spread is through the use of sham organisations that purport to be authoritative. Let me give you an example of one such organisation, the American College of Pediatricians. On the face of it the name sounds particularly authoritative, but when you scrape the surface you find some interesting facts. The Hon. Dennis Hood quoted the group in a recent second reading speech in this council on the Statutes Amendment (Gender Identity and Equality) Bill 2016. Mind you, the honourable member is not the only person or group to quote the American College of Pediatricians. Another was Family Voice Australia.

Initially, I did a Google search on the American College of Pediatricians. I found it particularly interesting that the group does not list its membership groups or numbers. I then asked the parliamentary library to do some research on the American paediatric bodies and here are some of the details of that report. There are two bodies that purport to represent the views of paediatricians in America: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Pediatricians (ACP).

I will quote excerpts from the parliamentary library report entitled 'American Pediatric Bodies' by Dr Andrew Russ. The American Academy of Pediatrics was formed in 1930 and is a US professional membership organisation of 64,000 primary care paediatricians, paediatric medical subspecialists and paediatric surgical specialists. It has districts and chapters across the United States and Canada.

The American College of Pediatricians, on the other hand, was formed in 2002, when a group of concerned paediatricians left the umbrella national organisation, the AAP. They protested and ultimately seceded from this principal institution because of the institution's support for the adoption of gay couples. The ACP is self described as being 'as one with Judaeo-Christian traditional values', which it describes as life being at conception and that the traditional family unit headed by an opposite sex couple poses far fewer risk factors in the adoption and raising of children.

The American College of Pediatricians has attracted considerable controversy. The ACP was founded on the belief that the predominant national professional body, the American Academy of Pediatrics, was too beholden to what is considered mainstream nonreligious progressive ideas around children, family and sexual identity. Some commentators have noticed, however, that despite the fact that they purport 'to engender the honest interpretation of scientific paediatric research, without deference to current political persuasions' they have in fact been accused of being dishonest in the interpretation of scientific paediatric research, as well as letting research be persuaded by their own political/social/religious views. Some observers go as far as to say that the group misrepresents itself as a medical organisation and is instead a fringe group with a deceptive agenda, while others view it as an anti-LGBT hate group.

Clearly, from the parliamentary library report one could say that the American College of Pediatricians is not representative of the mainstream, but they use their notional professional status to masquerade as an authoritative view of American paediatricians, which is not the case. Clearly, the American Academy of Pediatrics is by an overwhelming margin the representative body of paediatricians in the United States and Canada, with over 64,000 members. I raise this to illustrate how the homophobic narrative can seek to claim legitimacy.

The senseless tragedy that occurred at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida just over a week ago is a wake-up call (if we need it) to address the discrimination and prejudice that continues to stalk the LGBTIQ community. I think my gay friend is absolutely right in his assessment that prejudice leads to violence. Let us not forget that to this day the murder—yes, the murder—of Adelaide's law lecturer Dr George Duncan on 10 May 1972, over 40 years ago, has not seen anyone held to account. At least the tragedy of Dr Duncan's death and the circumstances around it became a catalyst for gay law reform in South Australia.

I acknowledge the role of this chamber in that change. I particularly note the role of the Hon. Martin Cameron, a Liberal member of this chamber, in progressing the law reform in this area. Finally, I wish to ask those opposite to have their federal Coalition members come clean on what question will be put to Australian voters if a plebiscite on gay marriage occurs.

I think this is a very critical question, because there has not been any coming clean on this issue. I further ask—and this is an even more important assurance—that the federal coalition make no exemptions to any anti-discrimination laws during any possible future plebiscite. There are some groups in this country that are clearly seeking to have the federal government, the federal coalition, weaken our anti-discrimination laws during that plebiscite debate, if it occurs. I urge people: do not go there; clearly, do not go there.

In conclusion, one can only hope that the Orlando massacre could be a catalyst for the end of discrimination and intolerance of the LGBTIQ community across the world. We can only hope.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.

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