NSW MPs urged to show the love for the LGBTI community
Image: NSW Parliament House (Photo: Ann-Marie Calilhanna; Star Observer)
Politicians from across the NSW Parliament are being encouraged to show their support for LGBTI people聽with the launch of a new “friendship group” backed by the Coalition, Labor, Greens and independent MPs.
The Parliamentary Friendship Group for LGBTIQ held its first meeting today attracting around 30 members.
It comes a day after NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said she would investigate the implications for the state following the publication earlier this month of the Human Rights Commission鈥檚 “state of the nation” report on the issues affecting the LGBTI community.
The report found.
In response to a question from Sydney state independent MP Alex Greenwich, Upton said it was clear LGBTI people faced significant challenges in NSW and Australia as a whole.
鈥淭he government will closely review this report, and I as Attorney General will work to ensure that all members of our community will have justice that is fair and equal,” she said.
Coogee state Liberal MP Bruce Notley-Smith, who has described the NSW Parliament 鈥� which has six openly gay members – as will chair the new parliamentary friendship group.
鈥淭his group will build to support the LGBTIQ community and provide a forum for MPs to hear about issues often not talked about in Parliament,” said Notley-Smith, who is openly-gay.
鈥淲hether it is homophobic bullying in schools, access to adequate medical treatment for transgender people, or ending unnecessary surgeries performed on intersex infants.”
The new body will run alongside the already established LGBTI cross-party working group on LGBTI issues but be open to all politicians and staff.
Openly gay MPs Alex Greenwich and Penny Sharpe from Labor will be key players on the new group as will Greens鈥� MP for Newtown, Jenny Leong.
鈥淚 look forward to finding ways for the LGBTIQ community to connect and have their voice heard in the NSW Parliament,鈥� Sharpe said.
Meanwhile, a motion to support recent efforts solve the suspected murder of three gay men has won unanimous support in the NSW upper house.
Nationals upper house NSW MP Trevor Khan moved the motion to congratulate the government on its announcement that substantial rewards will be offered for information into the killings of John Russell, Ross Warren, and Gilles Mattaini.
All three fell to their deaths and disappeared off the Bondi-Tamarama headlands, well known beats in Sydney鈥檚 eastern suburbs, in the 1980s.
The mens鈥� families are firmly if the belief the deaths are the result of gay hate crimes,
鈥淚t is a phenomenal step forward for the House as a whole to agree to this motion,鈥� Khan said.
鈥淧revious Parliaments would have found it contentious, though it is a remarkable reflection of the positive and contemporary view the House takes on this matter of significant importance,” he said.
Yesterday, the NSW lower house unanimously called on 聽the Federal Coalition聽on any subsequent marriage equality legislation.
The NSW Parliament urgently needs to be the state in Australia to pass a law, to immediately ban sexual orientation/gender identity conversion therapy on minors! Also repeal all of the bigoted and useless “religious exemptions” within the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977!
First priority should be the end of the blanket exemption religious entities have from the anti-discrimination act. All schools – their students and teachers – should be safe places for gays, lesbians and transgender people.
What about bisexual and intersex people? They must also be included as well!