Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to start by saying thank you so much to the members for Goldstein, Kooyong and Warringah for their support. The Greens seek to amend the Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment (Selection and Appointment) Bill 2022 to provide for a LGBTQIA+ human rights commissioner. We've been approached by Just.Equal, who raised the very real issue that this reform does not go far enough. We will move for the well overdue appointment of a stand alone LGBTQIA+ human rights commissioner. I realised, I forgot to move this amendment—apologies. I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House calls on the Government to establish a Human Rights Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ people within the Australian Human Rights Commission".

The lack of such a commissioner is an obvious oversight that we can remedy here today. This remedy would send a strong and clear message to the LGBTIQA+ community that the era of the homophobia and transphobia from the previous government has come to an end, and signal a new approach in engaging with and protecting communities that have suffered systemic oppression for centuries.

The community is not asking for anything unreasonable. There already exists commissioners for race discrimination, disability discrimination and so many others. It is vitally important that the LGBTQIA+ community have the same protection of our rights afforded to us. A substantial number of LGBTQIA+ people call my electorate of Brisbane home. I move this amendment to give greater security not only to my electorate but also to the hundreds of thousands of people across this country who identify as LGBTQIA+. As a community, we experience higher rates of homelessness than our straight counterparts; lesbian and gay individuals are twice as likely to stay in crisis accommodation or sleep rough. One in five trans and gender diverse people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. This story continues into mental health as well. Young queer people between 16 and 27 are five times more likely than their straight counterparts to attempt suicide. Young trans people are 15 times more likely. This cannot wait.

Our communities are already in crisis and suffering at the hands of government inaction. It is fundamental that we examine the impacts of the policy decisions and laws we pass and make in this place on the LGBTIQA+ community. We have seen the awful treatment of the queer community through the marriage equality plebiscite, the Religious Discrimination Bill, the rise of authoritarianism around the world and through the platforming of hateful transphobic views by the previous government in particular.

The model proposed for this commissioner has similar functions to the existing Human Rights Commissioner but with a special focus on the queer community. This includes raising awareness of human rights impacts, research and education, and examining existing and proposed laws to assess their likely impact on LGBTQIA+ people. The need for the commissioner is clear. If not now, when? Our communities are calling out for it. It is our duty to get this done.

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