’Back to dark ages’

Anti-discrimination outcry

THE Geelong Branch of the Liberal Party needs to be hauled over the coals for a “disgusting” motion to revise the Sex Discrimination Act, a former mayor and local LGBTIQ advocate claims.

The local branch has been slammed for an “archaic” motion to the party’s state council to replace ‘Sexual Orientation’ and ‘Gender Identity’ with man and woman in the federal Sex Discrimination Act, winding back protections introduced for LGBTIQ people.

“Biological man and woman are being written out of law,” the motion states. “The solution is to commit to write the definitions of sex, man, woman into laws, in place of ‘gender identity’.

“A man is a member of the male sex, as defined by reproductive function; a woman is a member of the female sex, as defined by reproductive function. What was once just selfevident must be written into law to protect all the rights, privileges and access to services that have taken for granted, and to protect freedom of speech, conscience, belief and religion, which are essential to a free democracy.”

Former Colac-Otway mayor and LGBTIQ rights advocate Sharyn Faulkner said the move would take the rights of LGBTIQ people back to the dark ages.

“We would hope that this attitude is not held by the majority of Liberal Party members and MPs but for this to still be discussed in this day and age is disgusting,” she said. “The fact that the Corangamite electorate had a 72.6 per cent support for Marriage Equality makes this motion from the Geelong Branch particularly galling.

“By putting this motion forward it is causing great harm to the mental health of LGBTIQ people in the district and it also makes those who are considering coming out more afraid than ever.”

Ms Faulkner said she hoped to see Liberal Party members vote down the motion.