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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-04 Daily Xml
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International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter:

That this council—

1. Recognises International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Tuesday 17 May that is also known as IDAHOBIT;

2. Notes that, since its first celebration in 2004, IDAHOBIT had drawn attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions and sex characteristics; and

3. Congratulates the Malinauskas Labor government on its opposition to conversion therapy and its commitment to make sure that this practice does not occur in South Australia.

(Continued from 18 May 2022.)

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (16:46): I rise to support this particular motion, although I will be proposing an amendment that will be moved by one of my colleagues when this motion is brought to a vote next week. I have been a long-term supporter of IDAHOBIT and therefore very comprehensively support the sentiments of this motion. In fact, going through some of my historical photos, there is a picture with the honourable members for Dunstan and Unley and the Hon. Stephen Wade. I have to say that the Hon. Stephen Wade looked a lot younger. The rest of us have not changed quite as much, and I do not think David Pisoni had much hair in the original photo, but we indeed were photographed some 12 years ago on the steps of parliament with our little 'I love IDAHOBIT' posters.

This particular day was launched in 2004. The date 17 May has been chosen to mark the occasion as it was on that day in 1990 that the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the classification of diseases and related health problems. IDAHOBIT celebrates LGBTIQA+ people globally and raises awareness of the work still ahead to combat discrimination.

As a minister who had carriage of this portfolio area in government, we are very proud of the work that we did to support the rights of all South Australians to live their lives free from discrimination. We listened and delivered, providing new reforms for this community to be heard at the highest level of government and invested in policy, strategies and services that deliver improved access and inclusion.

Indeed, it was in our election policy platform in 2018 that we committed to hold a round table with the LGBTIQA+ community. There was a round table held in 2019, which was very comprehensive. Having attended for most of that, I think it is eye opening for someone who is an ally but not someone who identifies as LGBTIQA+ themselves to get a greater understanding of the breadth of areas in which people experience all sorts of barriers to the same sorts of things that others take for granted in relation to legislation, access to safe domestic and family violence services, regional isolation and health care, which is a particular area of challenge.

In our term, we made progress across a number of important areas, particularly in legislative reform. On 1 December 2020, South Australia abolished the so-called gay panic murder defence. Births, Deaths and Marriages now provides for the registration of gender, as distinct from biological sex, and has introduced the registration of non-heterosexual relationships from same-sex marriages, and co-parenting of children conceived through fertilisation procedures.

We released strategies and plans which prioritised the LGBTIQA+ community. The Wellbeing SA Strategic Plan 2020-2025 identified the LGBTIQA+ community as a priority for the work of Wellbeing SA and the Mental Health Services Plan focused on several matters relevant, with a number of areas of work planned or already underway.

The LGBTIQA+ Better Together conference was held in Adelaide in June 2021. We provided funding to the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance to support the community to lead events, and I attended one of those with Aboriginal health educator and poet Dominic Guerrera as guest speaker. As part of a broader strategy to build South Australia's LGBTIQ community capacity, and SARAA's role as a representative body across the state, we funded SARAA to establish a consumer advisory group, comprising community representatives, to inform cross-government actions and focus on the issues that had been raised through the 2019 round table; to appoint a project officer to coordinate the consumer advisory group; and to coordinate subsidised scholarships for young LGBTIQA+ people, those living in regional areas or those with limited financial capacity to attend the Better Together conference.

In relation to conversion therapy, conversion therapy is a practice that tries to change a person's sexual orientation by using coercive psychological, physical or spiritual interventions. It has been performed by professionals, priests and church ministers and even life coaches and counsellors. In December 2019, the Chief Psychiatrist issued an internal memorandum to all public mental health services regarding the inappropriateness of gay conversion therapy, seeking confirmation that it should not be provided. All local health networks confirmed that they do not provide or support such practices.

I note the number of health practitioner professional health bodies, such as the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Association of Social Workers, among others, that recognise the harm this practice causes and wholeheartedly acknowledge that this is not a therapeutic practice that anyone should endorse or provide.

We will be seeking to amend the motion as follows: by deleting paragraph (c) and inserting the words, 'Commends the Marshall Liberal government for listening to, delivering for and providing new reforms for the LGBTIQA+ community.' With those words, I commend the motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.

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