Rights bill demands our vigilance
Many in the community will like the sound of a bill of rights for Australia. But a bad bill could potentially be worse for us than none at all.
GLBT lobby groups around the country have greeted the idea optimistically, and they are right to urge us all to get involved in the submission process.
But be cautious before assuming this process will result in a bill that will deliver any acceleration on the path to real and final equality for non-heterosexual people in this country.
Kevin Rudd’s choice of Frank Brennan as the head of the committee that will shape the bill is the chief reason for my caution here.
Some readers may remember Brennan as the Catholic priest and lawyer who spoke out against the NSW Government granting police special powers to act against protestors during World Youth Day.
Amongst Catholic Australians, Father Frank Brennan is undoubtedly a liberal, but he is still an ordained clergyman and the head of the Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Legal Studies -” making him doubly an employee of the Catholic Church.
And while describing himself as a fence-sitter on the need for a bill of rights, he is also on the record opposing many of the rights such a charter would ideally contain.
He opposes euthanasia, and abortion in almost all circumstances. He believes recognition of same-sex couples should fall short of that given to relationships which are open to the bearing -¦ of children. And he believes strongly that religious groups and the businesses they own should be allowed to exclude employees on the basis of their sexuality. The same legal loopholes allow for the expulsion of GLBT students from religious schools.
Should religious privileges to discriminate be reaffirmed through this process (and have no doubt that members of the Christian Right will be pushing for exactly this), such a bill of rights could actually become a barrier to same-sex equality, not a boon.
Moreover, as this right to discriminate isn’t an individual one, but a corporate right held by church hierarchies alone, it could enshrine a power by which religious leaders can punish dissenting views within their flocks -” holding back debate on our issues within faith communities.
Sounds from the Government seem to indicate a preference for a charter model that merely tidies up established rights and leaves little room for court challenges on contentious issues such as our own.
Should a bill of rights be implemented before the introduction of federal anti-discrimination laws covering sexuality, it could muddy the waters there too.
Most likely this will be a grand symbolic gesture with little new at its core, but the mere chance of existing wrongs being cemented by this process demands our vigilance.
Ben, I don’t know any “Marriage or Nothing” supporters, but I know of lots of “marriage and everything else” ones.
Fair point I reckon Paul, but remember the Marriage or Nothing supporters will have a coronary about a state based Registry!
And tactically they are correct…once you accept state based Relationship Registry the argument for Federal recognition through Marriage dissipates.
Let the debate (respectfully) roll on…
Ben you call that “progress”, when will the Rees Labour Government indroduce a relationship registory to NSW residents – in line with the Tassie and Victorian models?
Adding to what James has posted, HREOC is currently asking for submissions for an inquiry into freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia- an area which obviously encompasses religious anti-discrimination exemptions, the curtailing of the expression of freedom of belief seen in this country’s discriminatory marriage laws and what lines are drawn between legitimate expression of religious views on sexuality and outright vilification. You have to the end of January to have your voice heard. More details can be found at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/frb/index.html
The consultation presents an opportunity to make sure a Bill of Rights or Human Rights Act DOES provide adequate rights protection without entrenching existing inequities.
I think it’s important to note that the nature of the process means that you can actually have your opinions and thoughts on these issues taken into consideration. Instead of just posturing or writing off the prospect as a threat, write in saying you want to see an Act which doesn’t limit challenges to or entrench discriminatory legislation currently on the books.
It’s really easy so there’s no excuse not to spend 5 minutes adding your piece.
Amnesty International’s pushing strongly for an Act covering the full range of rights in current international covenents and you can use their template if you want some assistance: http://www.amnesty.org.au/yourhumanrights/consultation/
or make a submission directly https://www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/HaveYourSay_SubmissionForm if you’ve got something a little longer to say.
By the way shayne, the study did not find that Muslims were among the most tolerant religious denominations in Australia when it came to homosexuality as it did not record any statistics for them. They were lumped in with all other non-Christian religions in the survey and I’d suspect the Buddhists, Jews, Pagans, Wiccans and other New Agers surveyed had a fair bit of influence on the final figure there.
Yes shayne, research conducted on behalf of the Australia Institute between four and five years ago found that “more than a third” of Australians view homosexuality as immoral. 35% in fact- less than two percent “more than a third”
Nearly five years later that figure is likely to be less than a third. Put simply, a very clear majority of Australians are not homophobic.
Although a larger proportion of Coalition voters tend to be homophobic when compared to Labor voters, homophobes probably don’t even constitute a majority in the Coalition camp anymore.
The problem isn’t that most Australians are homophobic, the problem is that both major parties believe homophobic voters to be an important body of swing voters (I actually think they’re wrong here), whereas most non-homophobic Australians aren’t going to jump ship to the Greens or the Democrats on the issue of gay equality alone.
Actually, there was no voting on the homosexuality -œresolutions in the UN. This is made clear by the following extract from a Reuters report of 19th December:
-œThe U.N. General Assembly split over the issue of gay rights on Thursday after a European-drafted statement calling for decriminalization of homosexuality prompted an Arab-backed one opposing it.
-œDiplomats said a joint statement initiated by France and the Netherlands gathered 66 signatures in the 192-nation assembly after it was read out by Argentina at a plenary session. A rival statement, read out by Syria, gathered some 60.
-œThe two statements remained open for further signatures, the diplomats said. No resolution was drafted on the issue and there was no voting, they added.
But let’s see an example of good government. No band-aids, no HREOC ,no endless senate committees wasting taxpayer money,just plain’n’simple equal rights to law abiding taxpaying gay/lesbian citizens. With a civil rights bill you don’t DEBATE someone’s civil rights, they are enshrined in a constitution and cannot be tampered with no matter what the political shade of government. That is how Spain, South Africa and Canada came to the decision of gay marriage. The courts said these governments were violating the civil and constitutional rights of their gay/lesbian citizens. This speech by the Jose Zapatero, Prime minister of Spain, is an historic picture of good government that respects ALL of it’s citizens.
‘Today, my government definitively submits for Senate approval the Bill, modifying Civil Law, [to] recognize today in Spain the rights of same-sex couples to enter in a marriage contract. Before Spain, they allowed this in Belgium, Holland, and, as of two days ago, Canada. We have not been the first, but I assure you that we will not be the last. After us, there will be many more countries motivated, honorable members, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality.
It is just a small change to the legal text, adding but a paragraph, in which we establish that marriage will have the same requisites, and the same rights, when the couple is either of different sexes, or the same sex. It is a small change in the letter of the law that creates an immense change in the lives of thousands of our fellow citizens.
We are not legislating, honorable members, for a far away and unknown people. We are extending the opportunity for happiness to our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and our families: at the same time, we are making a more decent society, because a decent society is one that does not humiliate its members.
In the poem -œThe family our poet Luis Cernuda lamented:
-œHow does man live in denial, and how in vain
By giving rules that prohibit and condemn.
Today, Spanish society responds to a group of people that for years have been humiliated, whose rights have been ignored, whose dignity has been offended, and whose identity and freedom has been denied. Today, Spanish society grants them the respect they deserve, recognizes their rights, restores their dignity, affirms their identity, and restores their freedom. It is true that they are only a minority, but their triumph is everyone’s triumph. It is also a triumph of those who oppose this law, even as they attempt to ignore it, because it is the triumph of freedom. This victory makes all of us a better society.
Aware that some people and institutions profoundly disagree with this legal change, I wish to say that like other reforms to the marriage code that preceded this one, this law will not generate bad results, that its only consequence will be to avoid senseless suffering of human beings. A society that avoids senseless suffering of its citizens is a better society.
With the approval of this Bill, our country takes another step in the path of freedom and tolerance that was started by the democratic Transition. Our children view us with incredulity when we tell them that many year ago, our mothers had less rights than our fathers, or we tell them that people had to stay married against their will…. Today we can offer them a beautiful lesson: every obtained right and liberty has been the result of the struggle and sacrifice of many people of whom we must recognize and be proud.
Today, we demonstrate with this Bill that societies can better themselves, and can cross barriers and create tolerance by putting a stop to the humiliation and unhappiness. Today, for many, comes the day evoked by Kavafis a century ago:
-œLater was said of the most perfect society
someone else, made like me,
certainly will come out and act freely.
I’m painfully aware of every minute we suffered under that insidious piece of snot phlegm, Ben. However it wasn’t until about 4 years into his reign of evil that he became cocky enough to show his true colours and express his views on the rights of women, Muslims, gay men and lesbians etc etc… in short, the fewer rights the better. Ergo: “How come we had an *overtly homophobic* PM for 8 years? ”
And by the way, while we’re all slapping ourselves on the back in congratulations for our newly-won equity, spare a thought for the poor queens who built this city’s gay scene, and won the rights we all take for granted. Many of them are about to lose their pensions. Happy Christmas.
Shayne, we actually copped Howard for near 12 years, not 8, UGH!!! And I think a point I would make is that legal reforms won are a long, long, way ahead of cultural shifts. But that isn’t unique to Australia, or indeed capitalism.
And with that, I wish ye all a Merry Christmas, especially you, Mike, smile for once, just while the photo is being taken…
Oh here we go again with the ‘ Australia is not homophobic ‘ crap again. So how come poor Matty Mitcham can’t get one dollar of sponsorship? If he was a straighty potatie, he’d be hosting one of those dreadful lifestyle programmes by now, showing us how to pot pelargoniums in Wellington boots and fronting a half dozen sports clothing labels. How come there are no gay role models in any of our media, just closet cases playing stereotypes, judging dance comps and giving fashion tips and playing up the stereotyped clowns? Because if they came out they’d lose their jobs. How come homophobes like John Laws, Steve Price, Sam Newman et al are icons? How come we had an overtly homophobic PM for 8 years? How can an ex Victorian Premier still get away with equating gay men with paedophiles?
An Australia Institute survey of 24,718 respondents on homophobia a couple of years back found more than a third of Australians view homosexuality as immoral. And they’re just the ones who were honest enough to say so. Not just the older generations, young men aged between 14 and 17 were more likely to be disapproving: 43 per cent thought ‘it’s against God, it’s disgusting,’ . Similar surveys show a higher percentage disapproving of homosexuality. (However, surprisingly, the same study found Catholics and Muslim are the more tolerant of homosexuality. than those affiliated with the Baptist church 68% intolerant and evangelical Christians 62%.) The Durex survey found 85% of gay and lesbian residents in Sydney, responded to having faced some form of abuse based on their sexuality.
“Gay” and “poofter” are generic insults. And please don’t tell me about other countries that are more homophobic because that does not make Australians less so. Step outside your middle-class, ghettoised, comfort zone and you don’t dare hold the hand of a person of the same sex in public for fear of getting your face kicked in.
Homophobia is a feature of modern capitalism, oppression of lesbians and gay men is virulent and systemic. Recognising the realities of homophobia is probably the first step in challenging it, AMP.
Facts are the HREOC report and it’s 58 recommendations were finally passed.
Fact is Tasmania, ACT and Victoria have introduced registered partnerships, and for many years gays and lesbian couples have been recognised similar to straight de facto relationships. (This latest initiative formally recognises relationships at the start.)
Here in NSW new co-parenting rights recognise BOTH same-sex parents of a child. And their is an inquiry into adoption rights. And finally the state Government provided money for Mardi Gras.
So their is progress. And the way we get progress is through the gay and lesbian activits you sneered at in your earlier posting.
If you hate Australia so much and believe it to be a brutal and oppressive place incapable of progress or change, why bother staying here?
No Ben. I am awaiting your rant’n’rave to prove me wrong, WITH FACTS. So far it is filled with emotional invective and grandiose statements.
And the part about socialism?! That’s a bit rich in this present economic climate. 25 years on the policies of Thatcher and Reagan have finally brought all western governments to their knees
FACT
All western countries are nationalizing their financial institutions to prop up ailing economies
FACT
All western governments are bailing out their manufacturing base to save each respective country from financial ruin
FACT
This is being done with taxpayer’s money (if that ain’t socialism, I don’t know what is)
FACT
Trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to prop up and buy off ailing private enterprises, banks and an unprofitable manufacturing sector is the WORST form of socialism and certainly NOT good business. Let the markets decide.
And Penny Wong is an elected ALP official who follows party line and is stony faced quiet when it comes to gay marriage And so what if she’s Asian Lesbian! Boo freakin hoo, cry me a river! She is in a position of influence and power, and she needs to start using it.
But hey you’re willing to forgive the silence?! As I mentioned earlier your lil friends in the ALP are the gutless wonders who willingly voted in draconian policies with the former administration. But ur like every rainbow ALP apparatchik, -˜Look how far we’ve come!’ I say look how far behind we are to the rest of the world. Think about it Ben, rather than the deluge of mawkish sentiment you dish up every time you respond.
2008 has been as a year of achievement for the community.
The civil rights of gays and lesbians have been increasing, in part thanks to the Rudd Government, in part to the tireless efforts of gay and lesbian rights activists and in part to the HREOC report. Certainly a sign of progresive policy returning to Australia.
So I toast 2008, whereas you would prefer it burn, like three weeks of destructive riots in Greece (you see that as a sign of a successful society).
Finally your sneer at the achievements of Penny Wong, an Asian born lesbian as a “class traitor” would be laughable if it were not so stupidly nasty. Didnt the term “class traitor” evaporate with the fall of communism, or are you still awaiting a socialist revolution?
Ben ever heard the term -˜class traitor?!’
Penny Wong and a slew of her labor chums are in parliament for POWER!!! Is that a new concept to you? Is that like news to you??? Penny Wong just happens to be gay, it does NOT mean she supports gay rights. By all accounts she is a hard headed determined politician who wants to make a career out of politics and she most certainly does not appear to be a human rights advocate. Penny Wong is looking after Penny Wong 1st 2nd and last like all of these politicians.
The Labor party supported many of the draconian polices against gays/lesbians from the previous administration as they did with asylum seekers because it had political bounce with the electorate. The only decent people standing up against the poisonous rabble were the Greens, Democrats and some very decent Liberal backbenchers.
And yeah, how timely for you to mention race riots. 2 Weeks ago a 15 year old Greek boy was shot by police. The whole country including the rest of Europe was outraged and Athens burned and the riots and civil unrest have spread to rest of Europe. In the very same week a 15 year old emotionally disturbed boy is shot dead by 4 Victoria police officers. The government response. NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING, politcal chest thumping and -˜what a shame.’ Like I said, welcome to Australia, a place where even the human rights of the young are NOT valued. And this is NOT the first time or last this sort of thing has happened.
But hey Ben, you just keep believing that -˜she’ll be right, mate’ as ur civil rights are slowly eroded through terrorist legislation or the intervention we had to have for Australian blacks.
And finally that cheap shot about me going someplace else because you can’t bare to hear what this country actually stands for, tells me that YOU DO UNDERSTAND and YOU DO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON but you won’t acknowledge the truth. And that my friend is why it continues and why there is a desperate need for a bill of rights because in the end we may end up with very few rights thanks to you and the rest of Australia’s apathy and laziness.
And Cheers, you hava a drug induced blissful alcoholic hazy xmas,
Actually Ben, although the UN vote didn’t succeed, the vast majority of countries didn’t vote either way on the resolution- which is a very good sign for how a future resolution might fare. The counter-resolution sponsored by Syria only attracted 57 votes- 9 less than the pro-gay resolution. Top points to Albania, the only majority Muslim nation to vote in favour of the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality, to Cape Verde, the Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau, the only African nations to support the resolution, and to Nepal and Japan the only Asian nations. And shame on the US, Thailand and South Africa for not supporting it.
On the whole Australia is neither a homophobic or a racist country- the vast majority of Australians are neither (though we are more homophobic than they are racist).
However it is often easy to forget that only one out of four Australians is homophobic when the ones who are tend to be so in your face about it and discrimination is still enshrined in law.
If you’re walking down the street and a stranger calls you a “faggot”, they’re the person you’re going to remember for the rest of the day, not the hundred or so others who passed by without doing a thing to you.
A majority of Australians didn’t reelect John Howard because they were racist- they reelected him because they were selfish and were yet to be convinced that Labor could be trusted with the economy. Australians care about racial equality and equal rights for gays- but they care about their own perceived needs first. Bigotry in Australian politics appeals to a very small slice of the electorate- unfortunately they’re a very motivated slice and one that jumps sides to vote for whoever panders to them the most.
FYI- Ben, homosexuality hasn’t been illegal in Cuba since 1979 and the last law targeting gay men was struck down in 1997. Cuba was also one of the 66 nations that voted for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality at the UN this week. Despite political restrictions the country is moving ahead in leaps and bounds on gay issues- putting it among the best in the Caribbean (though with neighbours like Jamaica and Haiti that’s not really saying much).
Speaking of the United Nations, last Friday a declaration that homosexuality should not be a crime was defeated.
While Europe and Latin America supported the declaration, African, Asian and Middle Eastern nations voted against, including China and Russia.
The USA abstained, claiming it had technical difficulties with the declaration (described as a “Bush’s parting gift to the Religious Right”).
Australia – the “most racist, misogynistic and homophobic place on earth” (sic) supported the declration.
Mike, you had better tell Penny Wong she ain’t welcome.
No doubt this country has shortcomings.
But every country seems to have them, with or without a Bill oF Rights – think of France with its annual race riots. But Mike you seem determined to think this is the stinking, worst place on earth, so why don’t you head over to the utopia of Cuba, where they jail homosexuals.
Somehow, I suspect wherever you go, you will be happy finding misery.
Cheers and best wishes for the season.
To Merlot-‘Go out and discover the sunshine and freedom we enjoy in this part of world….’ I DO live in the sunshine, the Nthn Territory 2 b exact. And you cannot imagine the damage done 2 indigenous communities by the military, police and medical thru the intervention. Welfare payments quarantined, the suspension of the racial discrimination act and lands trespassed at the Federal governments will. (The NT has the largest deposits of uranium on black land)The list of ‘nanny state’ abuses goes on….this is 21st century Australia. You need to get your Pollyanna head outta the sand and realize where you live?! It ain’t pretty and just for objectivity the United Nations doesn’t think so either, calling Australia one of the most racist nations on earth when they came for an inspection before the 2004 Olympics. To Ben, let’s hear some facts cowboi?! Prove me wrong? Next time you wrap yourself in the Ozzie flag think of Mulrunji Doomadgee whose liver split in two against his spine as he -˜fell’ on a Queensland policeman’s knee. Yeah, black deaths in custody is real normal in any western democracy!? The level of gay and lesbian hate crimes is increasing in Australia and they are notoriously underreported. Does it look grim? Yeah, it sure does. Do not ever think that gays/lesbians are accepted, they are tolerated. A REAL bill of rights will take a government to task and make it conform to its United Nations obligations towards justice for all not just the majority.
Mike your statements are an insult to those women brutalised by the mysoginist Taliban, by the dead and maimed by race attacks in Rwanda and imprisoned gays and lesbians in various totalitarian regimes around the world. Go out and discover the sunshine and freedom we enjoy in this part of world.
“Australia, a sore and sorry excuse for a country…ranks as one one of the most racist, misogynist and homophobic in the world”
Really? Are you coming down off some bad gear? What Emo-tinted glasses are you wearing? Australia may have its shortcomings, but that statement is ridiculous…and attacking Gay and Lesbian groups fighting for reforms is pathetic.
Absolutely right! This is nothing more than wallpapering over symbolism like the -˜sorry campaign’ for black Australians with no compensation. It is simply beyond belief that a Jesuit, whose order was founded to counter dissent from the reformation, is now in charge and HEADING a task force to enshrine people’s rights?! Naturally this is feel-good spin to make liberal minded people believe we live in a just and humane society. When we write the words in this document we can pack up and all go home. It is a paper tiger that will have few teeth and lots of palaver. Welcome to Australia, a sore and sorry excuse for a country that ranks as one one of the most racist, misogynist and homophobic in the world. New Labour will see that we are lulled into the never never for the next 10 years. It is very worrying when people like Rodney Croome and other gay activists are so grateful for crumbs at the table.