NSWWAA has written to NSW Premier Chris Minns as a matter of urgency to raise concerns about the proposed Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 that we understand will be debated in NSW Parliament this week. NSWWAA is particularly troubled by the lack of democratic process that has occurred to date regarding the bill’s proposed sweeping and significant changes across twenty Acts of Parliament. We wrote to the Premier yesterday and have also written to various members of the Legislative Council in the hope that they will take our concerns seriously and vote against this bill, given the potential for far-reaching effects on individuals across the political spectrum. We respectfully call on all Members of the NSW Parliament to demand transparent, meaningful, and open process that respects the rights of all NSW citizens, particularly the women and girls of the state.
Secretive and exclusionary process
We are deeply concerned that the Committee on Community Services in its inquiry into the bill decided not to allow meaningful public participation in the inquiry, despite the committee’s acknowledging the large amount of public interest in the bill. Inviting only selected ‘stakeholders’ – a majority of whom represented only one side of the debate on matters that affect women and girls – to make submissions to the Committee was a grave breach of democratic process that AAWAA registered at the UN level. And while those not selected in this restricted exercise were able to make their concerns known through an online survey, the survey provided only for likert-scale-type responses and did not allow for prose-based answers, proving an inadequate instrument for ensuring participation and for gathering feedback from the wider NSW community.
This exclusionary approach violates fundamental democratic principles and human rights, particularly the right to freedom of expression and women’s right to participate in public affairs (Art 7 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). Other Australian jurisdictions, such as Queensland, have allowed public participation in similar legislative inquiries, ensuring a transparency and consultation — despite the development of the Queensland bill, in particular, falling short of best practice.
We further note that although the online survey relating to the bill was inadequate, the results nevertheless show that NSW residents are overwhelmingly (85.13%) opposed to this bill. Moreover, a petition with over 25,000 signatures opposing this bill was presented to Parliament on 26 September 2024 by The Hon Greg Donnelly MLC – exceeding the 20,000 signature threshold for Legislative Assembly debate. Both the survey results and the submitted petition clearly indicate the urgent need for broader public consultation before any further debate in Parliament occurs.
Failures of the bill to protect women and girls
In regards to the content of the bill itself, consideration of the need for sex-based protections of women and girls, our right to live free from exploitation, and our human rights to safety, privacy, and dignity are almost completely overlooked in these proposed amendments. Of particular note is the apparent disregard of the special needs of disabled and elderly women, women in prisons, women living in poverty, women in need of rape crisis support, women escaping male violence, lesbians, and women from religious and ethnic minorities.
If passed, the bill will dismantle key protections for women and girls, which took decades and multiple parliaments to secure, and will increase our vulnerability in various areas:
- Prostitution. By decriminalising pimping, the bill enables further sexual exploitation of women and girls, making them more vulnerable to trafficking and coercion.
- Surrogacy. The bill weakens existing prohibitions on commercial surrogacy, increasing the risk of exploitation by NSW citizens of women in vulnerable situations.
- Crisis support. Female-only crisis services are essential for trauma-sensitive care; however, this bill jeopardises the ability of these services to operate safely and effectively without the presence of males.
- Prisons. If passed, the bill would allow offenders who are biological males to claim access to women’s prisons – including those males convicted of sex offences against women – thus compromising women’s safety and violating their fundamental human rights.
- Health facilities. Female-only health services are lost under this bill, allowing the accommodation of males identifying as women in female-only facilities, undermining women’s privacy, safety and dignity.
- Sport. The bill dismantles female-only sports, exposing women and girls to unfair competition and to safety risks in non-consensual, mixed-sex sports, removing their ability to register objections without facing claims of discrimination.
- Lesbians. Lesbians under this bill would be required to include biological males in their spaces and events, impacting their ability to engage in safe, lesbian-only communities, and undermining decades of progress in the fight against homophobia.
Given the serious nature of the bill, we request a full and open committee inquiry that allows all NSW citizens the opportunity to engage in an unfettered, open, full and meaningful democratic process. Any parliamentary committee convened on this matter must allow all citizens to participate – and not just those it selects. It must also ensure that citizens are given adequate time to prepare and make submissions.
Given these acute concerns, we also ask that a conscience vote on this bill be allowed by all parties, given its far-reaching effects on individuals across the political spectrum. We respectfully request that Members of the NSW Parliament stand for a transparent and fair process that respects the rights of all citizens, particularly the women and girls of NSW.
