Premier Perrottet Shies Away From Saying If He Will Back Ban On Gay Conversion Practices

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has refused to publicly say whether he will back Sydney Independent MP Alex Greenwich’s bill to ban harmful gay conversion practices. 

NSW is one of the few jurisdictions in Australia that has not banned gay conversion practices.

Over the past few years, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT have enacted laws to prohibit conversion practices in health and other informal settings, including at faith-based institutions. 

Ban On Conversion Practices

Out gay MP Greenwich had last week announced that legislation to outlaw conversion practices would be part of his omnibus Equality Bill.

“While other state and territory governments are moving forward with reforms like prohibiting conversion practices, NSW is lagging behind,” Greenwich said in a statement. 

The Sydney MP said that his support for a future minority government would depend on them promising to support his Bill. 

“As a gay man, and the MP representing the largest LGBTQ community, there is no way I could support a future minority government that allowed discrimination against my community to continue in law, this Bill is important to me and others on the cross-bench,” Greenwich added.

NSW Labor Backs Ban On Conversion Practices

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns issued a statement last week saying if elected his government would enact legislation to ban LGBTQI conversion practices in the state. 

On Tuesday, Premier Perrottet told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was up to his cabinet. “I haven’t had the opportunity to read through that legislation, and secondly, that’s a matter for our cabinet,” Perrottet told the publication, adding, “We need to deal with these issues in an understanding and tolerant and sensitive way.”

New South Wales treasurer Matt Kean struck a more conciliatory note clarifying that he “wholeheartedly supported the concept” and “what we’ve said is we’ll look at the bill .”

Liberal MP and Minister for Multi-Culturalism Mark Coure said on social media that he backed Greenwich’s bill. on this issue. “It is time this appalling practice is cast out of our society,” Coure posted on Twitter last week.

Survivors Urge Parties To Back Ban

Survivor groups and LGBTQI advocates welcomed NSW Labor’s commitment and emphasised the importance of a “multi-partisan approach” to ban conversion practices. 

“Conversion practices are based on the idea that LGBTQ+ people are broken or disordered and need to be ‘healed’, ‘treated’ or ‘suppressed’,” Chris Csabs, Cofounder of survivors group SOGICE Survivors said in a statement.

Csabs cited a La Trobe University’s National Conversion Ideology and Practices Research Project, which revealed that gay conversion practices are occurring across Australia, including in NSW. 

“A multi-partisan commitment to ending conversion practices gives NSW the chance to protect its LGBTQA+ community from something that we know significantly and profoundly harms them. If we don’t, NSW could become a ‘safe haven’ for these damaging practices to continue,” Csabs said. 

Greenwich said that his bill would be based on the Victorian model, which survivor groups have hailed as the “gold standard” legislation. 

“Victoria’s world-leading scheme was developed in close consultation with survivors. Whoever wins the state election must consult with survivors, faith organisations and health professionals to put in place a process to end the practices impacting LGBTQA+ people in NSW,” added Csabs.