Jack Whitney: Fighting the System From the Inside
Image: Jack Whitney. Images: Instagram
Jack Whitney, co-convenor of the NSW Gay聽and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Social Worker and聽self-confessed 鈥淧olicy Geek,鈥� grew up in Hillsong聽territory but didn鈥檛 let that environment stop him聽from living his best life.
鈥淎lthough living now in the glorious Inner West, I聽grew up in Sydney鈥檚 Hills District, colloquially known聽as the 鈥淏ible belt鈥� and the birthplace of Hillsong. I聽spent a lot of my time in this community and school聽surrounded by many conservative, sometimes聽religious, members of the community. It was with聽these folk that I attended a church and youth group,聽and, eventually, came out to at age 16.鈥�
‘People Are Complex and Cannot Be Broken Down to a Single Element’
鈥淭his coming-of-age experience as a young gay聽man showed me that people are complex and聽cannot be broken down to a single element.鈥�
Being co-convenor of NSW GLRL has Whitney聽dealing with some of the most troubling bills coming聽through parliament, including the aftermath of Bills聽from the likes of One Nation and Mark Latham.
鈥淒uring my time in this space, I have been involved聽in mostly putting out fires with One Nation in NSW.聽This has included their Education bill and Religious聽Freedoms Bill, as well as their bills that posed to聽change how we handle discrimination complaints聽in NSW.鈥�
Bringing the Voices of the Community Into the Public
鈥淢y role as convenor of the lobby has been about聽bringing the voices of the community into the public,聽working with other community organisations and聽peak bodies, speaking with politicians and decision-makers聽and doing media around these issues.鈥�
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 time for meaningful reform. Going back聽isn鈥檛 the same as going forwards. That鈥檚 why the聽Equality Bill is so important.鈥�
Speaking of the Equality Bill, announced in March,聽Whitney is passionate about what it could mean for聽the LGBTQI community, saying, 鈥淭he omnibus bill聽ensures equal rights for all of us. The proposed bill聽is an important and watershed moment for NSW. It聽will bring us in line with modern anti-discrimination聽legislation and protections for all people.鈥�
Whitney also tags access to healthcare as being聽one of the most common complaints people have,聽saying, 鈥淟ocally in NSW, many voice issues to聽accessing healthcare. Access to healthcare is a聽significant barrier for many in the community locally,聽especially trans and gender diverse people.鈥�
鈥淏ut luckily, the NSW Government has just聽announced the first LGBTIQ+ Health Centre in NSW,聽with plans to be operational March 2023,鈥� he added.
