Socialist Alliance candidate for Franklin Jenny Forward was asked to meet the sexual & gender diverse community at the Kingborough/Huon Valley Coming Out Proud (COP) Community Liaison Committee election forum and to outline our GLBTI policy.
Here is the speech given by Jenny Forward who grew up in the Huon Valley in response to the questions provided by COP. The responses were mainly drawn from the recent national policy adopted at the 2010 Socialist Alliance Conference after extensive consultations with members of the GLBTI communities and Scarlet Alliance:
How will your Government provide access to the GLBTI Community to discuss its issues and develop appropriate policy and practice responses?
We believe in supporting independent social movements to pressure governments. Socialist Alliance believes that the best way for the GLBTI community to influence policy and practice is by being organised and active themselves. The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group TGLRG led the successful 1988-1997 campaign for gay law reform in Tasmania and it is a wonderful example of what you can achieve and how you can influence political parties through your own activism. Tonight’s forum and ongoing activism and organising by representative groups such as the Tasmanian Council for Sexual & Gender Diverse People are a crucial means of influencing policy and practice.
It is worth noting here that the ALP has recently set up a Social Inclusion Unit within the Dept of Premier and Cabinet but it doesn’t go far enough regarding the GLBTI community as Rodney Croome from the (TGLRG) stated: “We are pleased the Strategy is the first in Australia to acknowledge the exclusion GLBTI people face, but frustrated there’s no pointers for how to tackle this exclusion.” The Tasmanian Council for Sexual and Gender Diverse People also lobbied for greater inclusion to the communities they represent in the Social Inclusion Unit too.
What does your Party see as the major issues faced by the LGBTI community in Tasmania.
We live in a society which attempts to dictate sexual preference and gender identity through promoting the gender stereotypes and homophobic attitudes which underpin the heterosexual nuclear family, and by promoting marriage and the nuclear family as the only legitimate model for relationships. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, trans people and intersex people suffer oppression because their lives are a challenge to the nuclear family which is an economic cornerstone of capitalism.
The Socialist Alliance opposes all attempts to shoehorn people into sexual and gender conformity. We believe it is a basic democratic right that a persons’ self-definition of sexual preference and gender identity should be recognised. Heterosexism exists at almost every level in this society, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is entrenched in all of the key institutions of society - education, health, the law, the media, family, church and state.
The Socialist Alliance supports politically independent and self-organizing social movements that fight the oppression of women, lesbians and gay men, trans and intersex people, people with HIV and sex workers through mass action, public demonstrations, lobbying, voting and by building alliances with the broader working class, feminist, and anti-capitalist movements.
We oppose sexism, racism, ageism, and discrimination against people with disabilities within the lesbian and gay communities, as we do in the broader community.
Therefore we see that the major issues in Tasmania are:
• Discrimination- schools, workforce, public places and services such as aged care
• Safe Public Housing for LGBTI
• Recognition of same sex relationships
• Funding boost for organisations especially those focussed on youth (as many leave and some suicide)
• There needs to be more acknowledgment of the diversity within GLBTI communities
• Self-determination for the Tasmanian GLBTI community
How would your Government respond to these issues?
• Enact enforceable anti-discrimination legislation to protect lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, people living with HIV and trans and intersex people. We will remove existing exemptions from anti-discrimination legislation in relation to employment for private schools, religious organisations, the insurance industry, the tax system, superannuation etc. The Socialist Alliance will legislate for the right of trans and intersex people to be issued with passports, drivers licenses and other documents specifying the gender (or non-gender) of their choice.
• Legislate full social, legal, trade union and industrial recognition of same sex and gender variant relationships. This would include extending to same sex relationships equal status with heterosexual de factos in superannuation, immigration, taxation, family law, industrial relations and any other laws and regulations; ensure the right of gays, lesbians and gender variants to choose to marry if they so wish; provide independent incomes [Newstart, Pensions, etc] for all regardless of relationship status - this will end state-enforced economic dependency.
• Guarantee the right of gay men and lesbians to adopt or foster children and to access free, safe reproductive technology like IVF. End discrimination against gay men, lesbians, trans and intersex people in child custody cases.
• Legislate against use of non-violent homosexual “advance” as a defense of “provocation” in violent crime.
• Provide full state funding for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans people and intersex youth programs including refuges and housing services, health services, coming out, self-esteem and suicide prevention programs;
• All public funding for education, youth, aged, health, employment and welfare to be directed though non-discriminatory government and/or secular non-profit community organisations. Education in schools to incorporate positive material on homosexuality, trans and intersex peoples.
• Support Pride Marches, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, film and video festivals and other queer community events; defend and extend gay, lesbian trans and intersex programming on the ABC, SBS and community broadcasters; work vigorously for an end to the vicious and destructive portrayal of gay men, lesbians and trans people people in some sections of the media.
• Mandatory sensitivity training and refresher courses for the police force in how to deal with LGBTI issues. This education and training must be developed with and by the LGBTI community. The selection of LGBTI liaison officers should be under the control of the LGBTI community and recallable.
• Support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans and intersex workers; promote strong policies within unions to defend gay, lesbian, trans and intersex workers; support the establishment of gay and lesbian caucuses within trade unions.
Do you believe that GLBTI people are entitled to register and celebrate their relationships as for the Marriage Act?
Socialist Alliance has been active across Australia at a grassroots level on LGBTI issues. We have strong representatives and spokespersons on these issues such as NSW activist Rachel Evans who was the National Union of Students Queer Officer in 2006, she has also been active in Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), she also stood in Parramatta NSW Lower House in the federal election in 2007 and was the spokesperson for the NoToPope Coalition in 2008. And I would like to point out that Socialist Alliance has worked closely with the CAAH and has given regular spots to it to discuss issues in our paper the Green Left Weekly. WE have brought up not only these issues but have also highlighted issues facing queer refuges. And through our work in the CAAH we also initiated a petition calling for a repeal of the ban on same-sex marriage.
Socialist Alliance was a key force in Sydney to building mass pressure against discrimination through the passing of the same-sex marriage ban in 2004. When the ALP voted with the bill in the house of Reps, Socialist Alliance organised a snap occupation of the Marriage Registry including a “marriage ceremony” in which two of our members committed themselves to protesting for their right to marry.
Under the growing pressure specifically from the CAAH and the Alliance, the ALP backed away from passing the government’s legislation in the Senate, stating that “not enough community debate” had been had and bringing forward a senate enquiry; of course a week later the National Marriage Forum took place in Canberra, where the ALP announced their changed position to the Christian Right of stating their intention to end the Senate inquiry. I think that this really highlights the need for a mass left movement such as Socialist Alliance which is working on the ground with other organisations to create grass roots pressure on the major parties.
Socialist Alliance members in Hobart have also always played an active role in public campaigns promoting the rights of the LGBTI community and in favour of equal marriage rights.
We believe that marriage rights for GLBTI people are a key demand that must be met. There seems to be wide-spread support for de-facto rights which is also supported by the Labor party, but Socialist Alliance says that this is not enough. De-facto rights do not give comparable rights to those of married couples and to only promote de-facto and shy away from full marriage rights still continues ongoing discrimination.
