New management committee for NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby

THE NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL) has elected three new Committee of Management members following its annual general meeting last week.

Justin Koonin was re-elected as the convenor, along with Lauren Foy as secretary, and Chris Pycroft as treasurer.

New committee members Charles Gregory, Jeremy Law and Benjamin Oh join re-elected members Nick Atkins and Rebekah Hitchenson.

The lobby also farewelled several members, including Lainie Arnold, who first served on the committee in 2007 and was co-convenor for two years, along with policy working group chair Alistair Lawrie, and Lauren  Sics, who contributed her legal knowledge.

Joining the NSW GLRL staff were office administrator Jordan Hardy and policy and projects officer Amanda Keeling.

Koonin paid tribute to the work of outgoing and continuing committee members.

“It is an honour to work with such a dedicated team, and an exciting time to be involved,” he said.

“We are witnessing a dramatic change in the way LGBTI people are viewed in Australian society, but there remains a tremendous amount of work to do.”

NSW GLRL’s Annual Report documents the group’s steps towards legal reform and equality for the state’s LGBTI residents, highlighting victories such as the amendments to the Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Bill which ended they use of “gay panic” defence in NSW, as well as the full passage of the Criminal Records Amendment (Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill this month, which establishes a scheme enabling people convicted of consensual homosexual conduct, prior to decriminalisation in 1984 and the lowering of the age of consent in 2003, to have the those criminal records extinguished.

According to the report, the organisation’s goals for the year ahead include working on combatting discrimination, especially removing exemptions for religious organisations, as well as working with states and territories on lobbying for marriage equality, and a continued partnership with Family Planning NSW and Safe Schools Coalition to combat homophobia and bullying in schools.

Expressions of interest are being accepted for the remaining vacant committee positions, including female-specific roles, and roles with legal, events, fundraising and media skills. For details or to submit expressions of interest, email [email protected] or [email protected]