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Contact details for all parliamentarians:
Parliament
of NSW
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
2003 NSW State Election
1. EQUALITY |
Law reform in the 1980’s and 1990’s has meant that NSW has, in the past, been one of the most progressive states in regards to legislative equality for lesbians and gay men. However, there are still many areas in which lesbian and gay men do not have equality and further law reform is urgently needed. With states such as Western Australia and Tasmania recently making a strong commitment to lesbian and gay equality through the passing of legislation, NSW is now the last State of Australia for gay and lesbian equality. |
a) Is your party committed to equality for lesbians and gay men in NSW? b) Please explain the strategies that your party will adopt to ensure such equality. c) Does your party have a dedicated portfolio area with responsibility for issues relating to lesbians and gay men and equality for homosexuals? Does your party have a spokesperson/s for lesbian and gay issues? |
2. EQUAL AGE OF CONSENT |
New South Wales is the only state in Australia and one of the last states internationally, which has a discriminatory age of consent based on sexuality.Under the Crimes Act, a gay man cannot have consensual sex with another man until the age of 18,Heterosexuals and lesbians are able to consent at the age of 16. |
a) Does your party support an equal age of consent of 16 for all persons in NSW regardless of gender or sexuality? b) Will your party introduce legislation into Parliament that will amend the Crimes Act, so that an equal age of consent of 16 is realized? (Please provide a timeframe for the implementation of such legislation). c) As a report by the University of NSW (2001)1 demonstrated, there are significant negative health and welfare implications for young gay men of an unequal age of consent. If your party does not support an equal age of consent, how will the health and welfare needs of young gay men be addressed. |
3. LESBIAN AND GAY FAMILIES/ PARENT REFORM |
Many lesbians and gay men in NSW are parents, or provide parental support and care at various levels. As such, lesbian and gay families occupy an ever increasing part of what constitutes a family in our society. However, the law fails to properly recognize lesbian and gay parents, and their families. |
| a) Does your party have a commitment to implementing legislation and policy, which will properly recognize lesbian and gay families, as well as the rights of lesbians and gay men as parents? b) Does your party support the legal recognition of partners of biological parents as co-parents of a child born through donor insemination (“DI”)? c) Will your party support amending the Adoption Act, in order to allow samesex couples the right to adopt children in the same way that heterosexual couples may adopt children? |
4. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION |
The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 prohibits discrimination on the basis ofhomosexuality, which offers lesbian and gay men as individuals, limited legal protection from discrimination. However there are provisions of the Act, which still allow for discrimination against lesbians and gay men. |
| a) Will your party enact legislation that will amend the Anti-Discrimination Act, so that charities, religious bodies, voluntary bodies, and aged care organizations are not exempt from complying with the provisions relating to discrimination on the grounds of homosexuality when providing publicly funded social welfare, health and community services ? b) Will your party enact legislation that will amend the Anti-Discrimination Act, to extend the provisions relating to discrimination on the grounds of martial status to provide protection to same-sex defacto relationships (as is currently the case for heterosexual defacto relationships)? c) How does your party plan on making the Anti-Discrimination Act more accessible to lesbians and gay men (e.g. making people more aware of the process to be undertaken if they have been discriminated against)? |
5. SOCIAL JUSTICE |
In addition to the urgent need for further legislative reform, policies and strategies are required to address the well documented homophobia, violence and harassment experienced by lesbians and gay men throughout society. |
| d) What strategies will your party employ in order to combat homophobia, violence and harassment experienced by lesbians and gay men in NSW? e) Will your party enact and/or support, through the provision of funding, programs in all NSW secondary schools, which aim to educate and prevent the high level of homophobia that occurs within these institutions, at home and in the community generally? |
6. “MISSING PIECES” LEGISLATION/SAME SEX RELATIONSHIP RECOGNITION |
The Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Relationships) Act 2002 amended most of the “missing pieces” in NSW legislation that did not provide the same rights to same-sex de facto relationships as to heterosexual de facto relationships. However a number of laws still do not provide equlity for same-sex defacto couples, and as such treat lesbians and gay men as unequal |
| a) Will your party amend the
following pieces of legislation, so that the |
7. LESBIAN AND GAY HEALTH ISSUES |
The particular health issues experienced by Australian lesbians and gay men are well documented. These health issues can relate to particular risk factors or activity (for example, depression, sexual health; or tobacco, alcohol and other drug issues) or can be due to lack of access to appropriate, non-judgmental health services which are responsive to the needs of lesbians and gay men (i.e. breast, cervical and bowel cancers). |
| a) What commitments will your party make to the particular health needs of lesbians and gay men in NSW? b) Will you enact/ support programs that take a holistic approach to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention (e.g. adapting policy that recognizes the social and economic as well as the health impact of HIV/ AIDS for people living with, and affected by, the disease)? Please give details. c) How will your party address the particular needs of older lesbians and gay men? What specific policies do you plan to implement in order to provide for an ageing lesbian and gay population? d) What measures will your party take to ensure that lesbians and gay men have better access to medical services, in particular those that relate to the treatment of illnesses which are prevalent amongst lesbians and gay men (e.g. cervical cancer amongst lesbians)? |
8. LESBIAN AND GAY YOUTH |
Young gays and lesbians face numerous disadvantages in our society because of their sexuality. Coming out in a homophobic society results for most in persecution at home, school, work, and social spaces. Research has clearly shown that lesbians and gay youth are likely to attempt and commit suicide at a disproportionately higher ratethan the general youth population, and are more likely to face homelessness and poverty because of their sexuality. |
| a) What policies will you implement to address the issue of youth suicide amongst lesbian and gay youth? Does your party prioritise lesbian and gay youth suicide as a major issue facing youth in NSW? b) How will your party counteract the growing number of lesbian and gay youth who are homeless or living in poverty? c) Will your party create/support programs and initiatives focusing on assisting lesbian and gay youth in their process of “coming out”? |
9. SELF-DETERMINATION AND PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING |
| a) Is your party committed to involving lesbian and gay rights group and other appropriate community organizations in the process of making decisions and setting priorities on issues affecting the rights of lesbians and gay men? b) How does your party currently fulfill this commitment? c) How does your party plan on involving lesbian and gay rights groups and other appropriate community organizations in the policy, planning and service delivery of issues affecting lesbians and gay men in the next parliament and beyond? |