Proposed LGBT reforms for New South Wales risk far-reaching unintended consequences for women and children, Labor MLC Greg Donnelly says. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
He is urging people to sign a petition on the New South Parliament website that calls on members of the Legislative Council to vote against the Equality Bill introduced by Independent Alex Greenwich last August.
The bill would alter 20 pieces of legislation in what Mr Greenwich says is an effort to achieve equality and remove remaining discrimination of LGBT communities.
Faith and education leaders from Christian, Muslim and Hindu traditions have opposed the bill which would strip important protections for faith-based schools and religious institutions under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act.
Mr Donnelly said he was concerned about that aspect of the bill, and was equally worried about its potential impact on women and girls.
The bill would introduce sex self-identification laws, simplifying the requirements for changing a person’s legal sex on official documents including birth certificates to a mere administrative task.
Mr Donnelly says this would enable males to legally identify as females, access women-only spaces and remove protections for safety and girls’ and women’s sports.
The proposed changes would also allow children under the age of 16 to consent to gender-affirming medical treatment such as puberty blockers without their parents’ consent.
The bill would further liberalise prostitution laws and remove the current ban on access to international commercial surrogacy in the state, despite growing concerns about its potential for exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable women and children.
The Legislative Assembly’s inquiry took no position on the bill, recommending in June it proceed to debate despite a community survey of 13,000 people showing 85 per cent of respondents in opposition.
“Views put to the committee throughout the inquiry were quite polarised,” committee chair Clayton Barr wrote in the report.
“The great bulk of participants either totally believed in, or were completely opposed to, the Equality Bill. By and large the ‘middle ground’ was vacant.”
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MP urges support to stop Equality Bill (The Catholic Weekly)
