Tim Wilson announces “State of the Nation” report on LGBTI rights

Tim Wilson announces “State of the Nation” report on LGBTI rights

AUSTRALIAN Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson has announced the commission will develop a State of the Nation report into how the country’s state and federal laws directly impact LGBTI Australians.

The report will gather information on services and programs currently supporting LGBTI Australians to identify gaps and overlap in service delivery across the country. Sporting activities, the work of LGBTI community organisations, anti-homophobia programs, awards, social groups and resource development were all identified as targets for the report.

It will look at whether states need to enact legislative change to meet federal anti-discrimination requirements.

Personal stories will also form part of the report, which will be collected on a “nation-wide listening tour” led by Wilson from September–November this year.

Wilson made the announcement during an address at the Darwin Outgames Human Rights Forum today. The address marks the openly-gay Wilson’s first on LGBTI issues since he became Human Rights Commissioner earlier this year.

Along with the State of the Nation report, Wilson announced a number of other initiatives from the Human Rights Commission on LGBTI issues.

Wilson outlined a focus for the commission on driving inclusiveness for LGBTI people in business, and plans to develop a “national program of LGBTI role models to help put a public and successful face to young people struggling with their sexuality and gender identity”.

The commission will also work with LGBTI sporting organisations as a way drive cultural change in Australia on LGBTI issues. Wilson highlighted the commission’s work with the organisers of gay rugby tournament the Bingham Cup to develop the recently-announced anti-homophobia sporting code.

He also discussed a need to be more inclusive in sport of trans* and intersex people specifically.

Wilson’s focus on sport as a driver of cultural change highlighted a key theme in the address, a need for “sustainable cultural change”. He argued a new approach was needed in order to achieve further change for LGBTI people.

“I do not want to take anything away from the hard word and efforts of past activists who’ve got reform as far as they have. But I also want to acknowledge that we have entered a difference phase in achieving the further advancement of LGBTI people in this country,” Wilson said.

“The solution to many of the problems facing LGBTI Australians is not laws, but sustainable cultural change. Driving sustainable cultural change is not about loud rallies and protests. Sustainable change is now about quiet and difficult conversations.”

Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 president Andrew Purchas has applauded the Human Rights Commission’s role in developing the anti-homophobia framework, and echoed Wilson’s comments about greater inclusion.

“The three most important and pressing issue are: expanding the framework to include transgender and intersex, assisting the football codes and cricket implement anti-homophobia policies prior to start of the Bingham Cup in August, and assisting other sporting bodies to do the same,” Purchas said.

The Human Rights Forum has run alongside the Darwin Outgames this week, with LGBTI athletes from around the Asia-Pacific region gathering to compete.

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10 responses to “Tim Wilson announces “State of the Nation” report on LGBTI rights”

  1. Can anyone please provide me with a link to the videos of the Dancesport events held at the Outgames in Darwin in May
    Thanks
    Joan

  2. The LGBTI communities have been having those hard conversations for years. Bigots don’t listen. “Why don’t we all just sit down and have a nice cuppa” isn’t going to change a thing but you’ll be able to tick the “community consultation” box.

  3. Oh Tim. Not for me, thanks. Your lack of understanding of human rights is obvious from your comments on freedom of speech. So you don’t want to protest? And you don’t want us to protest. Talk about standing on a pile of privilege looking down on the rest.

  4. Tim

    You, Anthony Mundine et al

    Uncle Tom’s

    If that wording is offensive to you, it would be welcome under your Freedom of Speech agenda

    Cheers
    X

  5. Dear Tim,

    While you were working at the I.P.A you were coy about gay rights and had numerous speakers like Rabbi Cohen that had extremist viewpoints towards G.L.B.T.I.Q rights .

    (He wanted to withdraw funding from a safe schools coalition targeting gay youth and bullying. )

    To many in the community you’re the tokenistic gay man to appease an image of an extremist government.

    Thanks for your opinions but no thanks!

    We don’t want a man being used to win the gay vote for the government.

  6. If gay activism has taught us anything over the past three decades it isn’t that the Liberal party or their corporate mates will drive LGBT change rather the opposite is true.

    It saddens me that in Australia today a significant percentage of well educated, intelligent, frequently wealthy often socially privileged but all too often deeply closeted gay men voice far right libertarian prejudices that would not seem out of place at a Tea Party Rally in Louisiana.

  7. Water canon Wilson would say not to protest, it interferes with him getting his coffee from that poor Human Rights oppressed multi-national McDonalds.

    What a shame that he retains his role, when Innes, the Disability Commissioner has been axed….but then again which Commission defends corporations and which Commission took on Myers…..

    This Govt is driven purely by ideology – not what’s best for society

  8. It’s really time the community made clear that Tim Liberal Party Hack Wilson doesn’t speak for the majority of LGBTI people.

  9. What does ‘sustainable cultural change’ even mean? What would Tim say is ‘unsustainable cultural change’? Imma happy for you and the tour sounds nice enough but legal changes and democratic processes like protesting are also going to be essential in creating a better world for our community.