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Greens Russia motion rejected

By on November 24, 2011

A Greens motion denouncing a move by the St Petersburg Parliament in Russia to criminalise public discussion of LGBTI issues has been voted down in the Australian Parliament today.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young moved the motion in the Senate this afternoon and said she was disappointed the issue did not receive support from the Labor Party or the Coalition.

“The bill before the St Petersburg Parliament represents an appalling infringement on human rights for LGBTI people,” Hanson-Young said.

“If it passes, this bill will further exclude LGBTI people from public life. It will make it impossible for them to protest or peacefully assemble to stand up for their rights.

“As a vibrant democracy that believes in sexual diversity, Australia should be doing all that we can to lobby Russian authorities to abandon this bill.”

The so-called homosexual propaganda bill is currently before the St Petersburg Parliament and proposes fines for anyone who publicly “promote[s] sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transsexuality,” the Moscow Times reports.

The bill passed its first reading with an almost unanimous vote. Dates have not yet been set for a further two readings.

Russian gay rights activists have labelled the move “medieval” and human rights activists from around the globe have spoken out against it.

Lobby group All Out has started an online petition to pressure legislators to drop the bill. So far almost 200,000 signatures have been collected.

About Andie Noonan

16 Comments

  1. ben

    November 24, 2011 at 5:10 pm


    Sorry, this is so obviously just a Greens Party stunt…

  2. Brenty

    November 24, 2011 at 5:22 pm


    ben, no it is not a stunt for anyone GLTBI that lives in Russia!Perhaps, read and educate yourself more! We are all citizens of our planet. If our brothers and sisters are hurting, then we need to speak up! Once again, thank you Sarah, who is the ‘champion’ for GLTBI human beings in the Australian Parliament! Get the ‘green’ chip off your conservative shoulder, ben!

  3. Richard

    November 24, 2011 at 5:32 pm


    @Ben: My partner is Russian, and whilst he is now safely living here in Australia, his friends are all still back in Russia. They have been beaten up during Pride Marches, whilst the police stood by and watched. They have poor access to HIV treatments, and are subject to constant harassment and discrimination. Now the Russian government plans to introduce draconian legislation that will ban even the mere discussion of LGBT issues.
    Pretty elaborate Greens Party stunt, don’t you think?

  4. Lord Boofhead

    November 24, 2011 at 6:05 pm


    I don’t agree or approve of the Russian law. But really what would the Greens motion achieve beyond letting them and the idiot hipsters who vote for them pat them selves on the back?

    Parliament is about to shut down for almost 2 months. Surely there are bigger fish to fry…

  5. Brenty

    November 24, 2011 at 6:10 pm


    Thanks Richard , for your comments with direct experience of the Russian facts! Poor ben, I feel he may be sitting behind a computer in a Liberal Party MP’s office? If you want to know nothing about anything then educate yourself through the Conservative Party ranks in Australia! That is what they want!

  6. Pingback: Opposition to Russia’s ‘Anti-Gay’ bill gathers pace | Siberian Light

  7. ben

    November 24, 2011 at 6:56 pm


    @Brenty/Richard – like trained green party seals, toss ‘em a fish and watch them clap.

    No one seriously expects the Senate in the last day and half of sittings for 2011 – to debate this bill.

    It’s not the worthiness of the cause, it’s the transparent use of a serious issue that is really galling.

  8. ken

    November 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm


    well I used to be a greens supporter I had approached them over the years for support on my work cover and later homeless issues to never have even the dignity of a reply, I will never vote for the greens party again I think they are frauds apity they can’t be concerned with what happens to people being trashed at home by governments and their ineffectual functionaries and not concern them selves so much about how Israel responds to arab terrorism

  9. Mike

    November 25, 2011 at 9:27 pm


    I can’t believe this… Russia sounds like a terrible place to live.

  10. Brian

    November 26, 2011 at 12:07 am


    Greens constantly raise our human rights, and that is why I vote for them. Gillard cannot even have dinner with us!

  11. Steve

    November 26, 2011 at 12:40 am


    Ben, maybe your discomfort/ cynicism is because the greens are actually standing for a social justice/ human rights issue. From Big Party headquarters it can be confusing when someone acts out of moral principle rather than cynical opinion poll tactics to destabilise the other Big Party, which apparently is what our parliament is usually used for. But as shown by Siberian Light, what our parliament stands for is watched in other countries including Russia. Expressing the views of Australians on injustices in other countries IS one of the many jobs of our parliament.

  12. JackAlison

    November 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm


    It’s no surprise that the 2 dinosaur parties can’t ever stand up for human rights. But what do u expect from a morally bankrupt govt that applauds breast feeding in public as a major step forward in human rights legislation but doesn’t have the ticker to protect its LBGI citizens under a federal anti discrimination act even though it recently squirmed when being quizzed by the Netherlands and Norway when the UN was looking at Australia’s record of LBGI protections and marriage inequality. The situation in Russia is toxic and would have benefitted from the ambassador being called in to explain these ‘necessary’ sanctions against gay ppl. The greens are the only moral voice in the wilderness who speak up for things that really matter.We are INCREDIBLY lucky to have ordinary citizens of conscience.

  13. merlraz

    November 26, 2011 at 12:28 pm


    All political parties use this manoeuvre (when not in Government).

    1. The day’s agenda is organised, with set time allocated for opposition or minor party business on certain days.

    2. opposition/minor parties move a motion on another issue,in addition to the agenda, knowing their won’t be time, but wanting to “put it on the record”

    3. The motion gets defeated…said party can now point to their efforts to get the issue up and the awfulness of the parties that ganged up to stop it getting debated.

    As I said, it’s a tactic used by and against everyone from Fred Nile to the National Party to the Greens. Watch parliament for a month and you will see it happen. And everyone puts on the same song-and-dance afterwards!

  14. sam b

    November 26, 2011 at 6:39 pm


    fanstic taht voting dowan this bill wich breking of fssiciom in russsia homsexuly in out lawerd with exreanm hofobera this woud tacking lbgt right back to fifteys woud see australlia beccoum more backwaerd with abota to bob katera not looking fowerd living in qeansland

  15. Sam

    November 27, 2011 at 3:53 pm


    Greens = Communist party!

  16. Brenty

    November 27, 2011 at 9:09 pm


    Sam, if that is the case then, Liberals=Fascists!

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