Birth certificates, conversion therapy and non-consensual surgeries: Alex Greenwich introduces Equality Bill to NSW Parliament, and it’s about frickin time
"NSW is essentially last in the country when it comes to LGBTIQA+ rights" said the MP in a statement.
If you know a trans person who is born in New South Wales, then you almost definitely know the humiliation and frustration that come from the state’s birth certificate laws.
If you aren’t aware, NSW remains the only state left that demands a trans person undergo surgical procedures before they can get their gender identity recognised on their birth certificate. This policy is not only outright eugenicist in nature as it forces trans people to be sterilised before they can be legally recognised, it also forces trans people to push through the significant expenses that come with surgery, even if they don’t particularly want them.
Sounds pretty archaic and cruel, right? Well, the rest of Australia agrees and, thankfully, New South Wales might finally be coming out of the dark ages.
Alex Greenwich, the state MP for Sydney and all-round amazing gay activist has introduced an Equality Bill into NSW Parliament in a landmark move for queer progress in the state. This bill not only intends to fix this serious problem affecting trans people, it also intends to eliminate conversion practices, target queer discrimination such as making it a domestic violence offence to out or threaten to out a queer partner, end non-consensual surgical procedures on intersex people, and also complete the decriminalisation of sex work, amongst other much-needed legislation.
Mr Greenwich spent the last 18 months drafting this bill which is set to be the most comprehensive reform on queer rights in the state, and has the backing of ACON, Equality Australia as well as the NSW Gender Centre.
In a statement, Mr Greenwich said:
“NSW is essentially last in the country when it comes to LGBTIQA+ rights. To change that this bill amends over 20 acts and creates the new prohibition on conversion practices act.
“LGBTIQA+ people exist in NSW and the law should recognise and protect us, not judge and discriminate against us.
“For me this bill is very personal, I can be elected to Parliament but fired from a school for being in a same-sex marriage, and my community can legally be discriminated against throughout NSW laws, and it’s time that changed.”
The NSW government had committed to banning conversion therapy earlier this month, with Health Minister Ryan Park describing the practice as “harmful and damaging” – and time will tell if this translates to support of Greenwich’s bill. The bill will probably go through plenty of oversight from NSW Parliament before it is finally written into law, and I’m sure we’re all on the edge of our seats to hear what the likes of anti-queer rights politicians Mark Latham and John Ruddick have to say about all this (or maybe not), but a bill this comprehensive is a fantastic sign for the future of queer rights in Australia as a whole.
This bill comes right off the bat of many other landmark bills passed in Australia recently. Since 2021, Victoria passed the sex work decriminalisation act and bans on conversion therapy, while earlier this year Queensland passed self-ID for trans people, allowing them to change their legal gender without any medical intervention. Mr Greenwich has stated that all these bills all assisted in the development of his Equality Bill, and it’s easy to see given the scope of what this bill is intended to do.
The bill is set to be introduced tomorrow. Let’s gooo!
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Natalie Feliks is a writer and activist originally from Adelaide, now living in Melbourne. She's written for the likes of Junkee, Crikey, and Overland, and spends her time listening to pop music and eating chocolate.