Last night Liberal backbencher Lara Alexander hosted a controversial and harmful forum in Parliament House in support of conversion practices.
Conversion practices are not only scientifically debunked, but also cause significant and lasting harm and damage to the LGBTIQA+ people they target.
The Premier knows this and is already on the record accepting the findings of the recent TLRI report and has committed to bringing in legislation to ban conversion practices in Tasmania.
However, it is clear the Liberal Party is deeply divided on this issue, with at least one of Jeremy Rockliff’s senior ministers attending the forum.
Guy Barnett joined Lara Alexander last night, as Ms Alexander made the outrageous claim that people were freer to speak their mind in Romania than here in Tasmania – a country which just this year passed a bill through its senate to make discussion of gender and sexuality illegal in public spaces.
Matthew Guy, the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party, recently made it clear that a controversial Liberal candidate who supported conversion practices would never be welcome in his party room.
It is time for Jeremy Rockliff to tell Tasmanians, whether he will show some leadership and do the same thing.
There is no room in Tasmania for hate and discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people. Any MP who supports and gives voice to this should be held to account.
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Attorney General
