Now we’re a place where everyday people can find equality

Twenty years after life-changing law changes, Tasmania is a very different state, explains Rodney Croome

TWENTY years ago Tasmania was a very different place.

In May 1997 we became the last state to decriminalise homosexuality after a bitter, decade-long debate that saw hate rip families and communities apart and made us an international laughing stock.

Just a year before that, the Port Arthur massacre cast a pall of grief and despondency across the whole island.

These events turned the world’s gaze to a land one American newspaper dubbed a “grim, dark place”.

Tasmanians knew we had to remake our image as the hospitable, friendly, fairminded and optimistic people we knew we could be.

We had something to prove to the world.

One way we did this was by passing the AntiDiscrimination Act on December 11, 1998.

Appropriately, that marked, almost to the day, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN in the wake of the horrors of World War II.

But in Tasmania we were looking forward, not back.

Our new law was, and remains, the best of its kind in the nation.

It prevents the widest range of discriminatory behaviour and hate speech, in relation to the greatest number of personal attributes, with the fewest caveats.

Since 1998, the AntiDiscrimination Act has enabled many everyday Tasmanians to find redress against unfair treatment in the workplace, when accessing basic services and when looking for a home.

The Act says every Tasmanian should be taken on their merits as an individual, not pre-judged because of the colour of their skin, how they worship, who they love, or any other irrelevant aspect of who they are.

The Anti-Discrimination Act has also changed culture.

It gives government departments, private companies and schools an obligation and a mandate to raise awareness about the damage discrimination causes and how to prevent that damage.

Our Anti-Discrimination Act also continues to set standards for the rest of the nation to aspire to.

For example, our Act is the only one of its kind that prohibits discrimination against LGBTI students and teachers in faith-based schools, something it has done since its inception.

This has proven an important precedent during the current national debate on removing exemptions for religious schools from federal discrimination law.

To quote from journalist and author, David Marr, “plucky little Tasmania” is showing the nation that the sky doesn’t fall in when everyone is treated equally.

Our Anti-Discrimination Act has its enemies, particularly those who believe

God gives them the right to treat others less than fairly.

In 2017 they convinced the State Government to try to water down the Act’s hate speech and offensive language provisions with an exemption allowing such behaviour if religious doctrine could be found justify it.

Most people assumed the push was aimed at reducing existing protections for LGBTI people, until it was revealed that the majority of complaints about hate speech and offensive language come from people with disabilities.

Seeing the diversity of people protected by our Act, Parliament said “no” to the Government’s misconceived amendment.

After 20 years of operation, it’s possible to identity shortcomings with the AntiDiscrimination Act and its implementation that it is high time lawmakers addressed.

Pursuing a complaint can seem daunting, particularly given the lack of legal aid for people asserting their rights.

Cases can sometimes take too long to resolve, thanks to under resourcing of those agencies overseeing the Act.

Organisations accused of discrimination too often make excuses rather than look for solutions.

Sometimes, AntiDiscrimination Tribunal members can fail to grasp the day-to-day difficulties facing members of marginalised minorities.

Rulings can be difficult to enforce.

But despite these problems, the Anti-Discrimination Act is one of the most important Tasmanian laws of the past half century.

It was, and remains, a repudiation of all the petty prejudices, hatreds and cruelties that have plagued our island for generations.

It was, and remains, an embodiment of the hope that Tasmania can be not just a better place, but a shining beacon of inclusion and equality to the whole world.

Today there will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the AntiDiscrimination Act. Contact Equality Opportunity Tasmania for more details.