NSW Gay And Lesbian Rights Lobby Motion For Name Change

The New South Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby has recently conducted a number of surveys and workshops to determine whether or not the LGBTQI community in New South Wales and the members of the organisation are in favour of changing the organisation’s name. According to the report, it appears the majority are in favour of changing the name.

New Wouth Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby Co-Convener Jack Whitney has stated that “This name change consultation is not new. Recently, ally organisation, Victorian Pride Lobby, changed its name from ‘Gay and Lesbian’.

Whitney went on to say that “We see this diversity as our strength” and that “We have made a significant impact on a local, state and federal level for all of the LGBTQI community and are working with a broad range of stakeholders.”

In a report published by the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, they stated that they have communicated with many organisations within the LGBTQI community.

Those who engaged as part of the name change consultation included representatives from ACON, National LGBTI Health Alliance, The Gender Centre, The Pinnacle Foundation, Out for Australia, PFLAG NSW, Star Observer, and Trans Pride.

 There were a number of surveys conducted, including a Community Survey by The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby where 85% of participants stated they support changing the name. A second consultant survey by Kimberly Olsen showed that 63% of participants stated that they support the name change. There was also a member survey conducted with all financial members which showed that 38% did not support the name change.

In this report, it is stated that answers from all surveys and workshops that were conducted “reveal that the primary reason for supporting a name change is that the present name is not inclusive of the full diversity of the community and a new name should be so.”

The report states that “The vast majority of community members support name change, and a majority of NSWGLRL members support name change.” This was followed by saying “The community consultation provided suggestions for a more inclusive name, with the expected key words and acronyms: pride, rainbow, various iterations of LGBT+, queer and so on.”

The report concludes by stating four main outcomes and findings from the conducted surveys. These include the need to ensure “a diverse representation of the community, adopt a name that is less about identity and more about function, adopt a name that is symbolic rather than descriptive, and undertake an internal and external communications process to convey the diversity of those supported either with or without a name change.”

The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby’s AGM is being held on December 3, 2020, but the formal special motion regarding the name change will be held next year, according to Co-convener Jack Whitney.

In a statement, Whitney asserted that “My Co-Convenor, Audrey Marsh, and I are looking forward to discussing the report’s findings at our AGM and highlighting the strong community and member voice,” although the formal motion will not be made until next year.