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The Victorian parliament has voted to outlaw gay conversion therapy in a marathon sitting of the state s upper house.
The world-leading Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill passed the Legislative Council late on Thursday night 29 votes to nine following a 12-hour debate.
Liberal MPs Bev McArthur and Bernie Finn broke party ranks and voted against the government s legislation, along with crossbench MPs Jeff Bourman, Catherine Cumming, Clifford Hayes, Stuart Grimley, David Limbrick, Tania Maxwell and Tim Quilty.
The bill outlaws any therapy that attempts to change or suppress a person s sexual orientation or gender identity and empowers the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to investigate reports of conversion practices.
A man holds up a sign that reads “Vote against the change or suppression (conversion) bill” during a protest on 30 January 2021 against legislation to ban gay conversion therapy in Victoria, Australia. (YouTube/7NEWS Australia)
Protestors in Australia have gathered on the steps of Victoria’s parliament to rally against the government’s bill to ban conversion therapy.
The Victorian government introduced legislation to outlaw conversion therapy in November 2020. The bill, approved by the lower house on 10 December, 2020, will impose fines of close to $10,000 or up to 10 years in jail. It now just needs to be passed in the council before it can become law.
Last month, Victoria’s
Change and Suppression (Conversion) Prohibition Bill banning conversion practices seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity passed the lower house of the Victorian Parliament. As the bill is soon to be debated in the upper house, four survivors of conversion practices (Nicole, Percy, Aba, and Nathan) join Cal to share their stories and talk about why this bill needs to become law.
At several points during the episode, the Brave Network is mentioned. The Brave Network is a support and advocacy group for LGBTIQ people of faith and allies. You can check them out online at: thebravenetwork.org