Page 3301 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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One of the things that are disappointing is that although the world has moved, Australia has moved and this jurisdiction has moved a lot in the last 10 years, Mrs Dunne has demonstrated in her cold, dismissive presentation tonight that the Canberra Liberals have not moved at all. That is disappointing. Some of us held out some hope that there might be a spark of liberalism within the Canberra Liberals when Mr Hanson’s inaugural speech to this place indicated that he supported advancing the rights of gay and lesbian Canberrans. Sadly it would appear that on every substantive issue where we have had a chance to vote and actually do something to advance the cause of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex Canberrans, Mr Hanson has been missing in action. That is disappointing.
It is not as disappointing as the complete and abject failure of any leadership from Mr Seselja, the alternative chief minister, who could not even bring himself to be in the chamber for any of these debates over the last five years. He is always missing. He leaves it to someone else to do his dirty work but he is always missing from these debates, and that is disappointing.
Mrs Dunne: It is my job.
MR BARR: This is a matter of leadership. It is a matter of values. It is a matter that if you wish to lead this community, then you should have something to say on this issue and be prepared to front up to a debate on it. And I think that is an important thing for people to reflect upon in the coming 60 days.
But enough of the politics tonight. This is an important piece of legislation that makes a difference in people’s lives. I know that. My colleagues know that. Hundreds of thousands of Canberrans know that, and that is why they support this legislative reform. That is why they support and have shown overwhelmingly that they support equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex Canberrans.
We know that is the case and we look forward to the passage of this bill tonight, to further reforms and to further social change that will make life better for our fellow Canberrans. We want to be the most inclusive society in this country. We want this city to lead the nation and be the most GLBTI friendly city. That should be the goal, because cities will need to compete for people and if we do not demonstrate to all in our community that we value them, we respect them and we want to include them in our social institutions, then we are saying to some of our fellow citizens that they are second class and they do not deserve the same rights as everyone else.
I do not believe any fair-minded Canberran would accept that, and that is why legislating tonight is important and that is why continuing to stand up to discrimination, to stand up to homophobia and to make a difference in people’s lives is so important. That is what motivates so many to volunteer in GLBTI organisations and to keep on fighting the good fight. I hope tonight we achieve another small but important victory on this path to true equality.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.09), in reply: I thank those members who have indicated their support for this important bill.
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