By Rob Harris
Equality campaigners have lashed Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s move to strip back its federal policy platform ahead of the next election by removing almost 40 references to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer rights.
Trailblazing LGBTIQ+ rights activist Rodney Croome is among those who have raised concerns at the omission of several long-standing Labor positions from the draft platform, which will be taken to the party’s virtual conference at the end of the month.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Among the deleted references that have most troubled campaigners include removing a promise to ending coercive medical interventions on children born with intersex variations of sex characteristics, ending out of pocket costs for trans and gender diverse people seeking gender-affirming care and all references to the HIV epidemic.
A furious Mr Croome said Labor was “keen to walk down the aisle” with the community on marriage equality in 2017, but “now it looks like it wants a divorce”.
Within months of taking the leadership in 2019, Mr Albanese told his shadow cabinet Labor needed to gut its policy platform, specifically citing the need to streamline LGBTIQ references to gay rights.
A long-time advocate for marriage equality, Mr Albanese wanted to replace LGBTIQ references throughout the platform by simply referring to the need to end discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender.
Rodney Croome (right) campaigning for marriage equality in 2017.Credit: Eddie Jim
He has since stressed that Labor took “too many policies” to the last election and said voters were confused and overwhelmed.
Mr Albanese attended the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday and has marched in the event since the mid-1980s.
The national platform, traditionally updated during each term of parliament, is intended to provide party members and supporters in the community with a clear statement of Labor’s beliefs, values and program for government.
The document adopted prior to the last election was more than 300 pages long, with the latest draft cut back by almost two-thirds to 110 pages and now focuses on key economic and health priorities. The document usually outlines the key aims for the ALP over the coming years but does not always reflect specific policies.
Mr Croome, a finalist for Australian of the Year in 2015, said while he accepted that Labor had slimmed down its national platform, the axe had fallen “disproportionately on the LGBTIQ community”.
The 2018 platform included the term LGBTIQ 46 times but it appears just eight times in the most recent draft.
“Labor’s small-target approach to LGBTIQ issues is misguided, as shown by Joe Biden who took a wide range of big-ticket LGBTIQ equality commitments to the US election and won handsomely,” Mr Croome told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
In an email to Labor MPs and party figures, just.equal — a community campaign to advocate for justice and equality for LGBTIQ+ Australians, their families, friends and communities — warned the consultation draft of the ALP’s national platform had also failed to explicitly address some of their key challenges.
It included a lack of specific commitments to fix “inadequate and ineffective” anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT students, teachers and other staff against discrimination by religious schools, colleges and universities.
The draft platform has also dropped a promise to update terminology by replacing intersex status with sex characteristics and a pledge to appoint an LGBTIQ+ Commissioner within the Australian Human Rights Commission.
just.equal spokesperson Charlie Burton said the latest draft had also dropped its explicit commitment to ensuring schools are safe and supportive for all students regardless of sexuality and gender identity.
“This comes despite recent research showing schools are the least safe place for many young LGBTIQ people,” Dr Burton said.
“We urge Conference delegates to use their voices to ensure the ALP’s platform is not silent on key LGBTIQ+ issues, in what is likely an election year.”
Labor’s election postmortem, undertaken by retired South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and former trade minister Craig Emerson, said Labor had become a natural home for diverse interests and concerns, including gender equality, the LGBTQI+ community, racial equality and
environmentalism.
But it warned that care needed to be taken to avoid Labor becoming “a grievance-based
organisation”.