Courtney Act MCs Explosive ‘LGBTQ+ Voters’ Forum

LGBTQIA+ issues were platformed at a voters’ forum hosted by Equality Australia in Sydney on Tuesday night, with politicians discussing six priority areas that mattered most to the queer community.

Greens MP Stephen Bates, Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, Independent MP Allegra Spender, and Labor’s Kate Thwaites spoke to a sold out room, with more than 1000 people tuning in online.

Panelists were nominated to represent the views of their parties, while Spender, free from party politics as an Independent, was chosen in recognition of her history of advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community, and the fact that her electorate, Wentworth, has one of the highest populations of LGBTQIA+ people in the country.

Moderated by drag queen and media personality Courtney Act, the panel was asked pre-prepared questions from LGBTQIA+ figureheads in the community, including representatives from Rainbow Families Australia and the National Association of People with HIV Australia.

“Our community knows that elections aren’t just about who speaks the loudest,” Act said before opening discussion. “They’re about who listens the closest, and I think that that’s why we’re here, because when politicians listen to our stories, our hopes and our fears, they don’t just earn our votes, but they also earn the chance to make Australia a better place for everyone.”

In discussing the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People, Bragg said the Liberal party was committed to bipartisan support of the Labor-introduced  released in December last year, while Bates and Spender raised concerns around funding and implementation.

“I don’t want governments to start using it as an excuse to kick things down the road,” Bates said. “So I think it’s important that we constantly hold the government to account on this.”

Bates drew from his own experiences as a LGBTQIA+ public figure when asked about the rise of speech and violence against queer communities, and advocated for an LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Commissioner, an issue he raised a motion on in 2022 that was ultimately defeated by Labor and the Coalition.

Thwaites and Bragg both agreed that a register of hate crimes would be effective in combating violence, an initiative Thwaites said is being put in place by the Labor party alongside Equality Australia.

The pair also agreed to bipartisan support of the elimination of HIV by 2030, with Bates echoing the sentiment on behalf of the Greens. Bates announced the Greens commitment to fully funding PreP and PEP under the PBS, making the medication accessible to those who need it.

Liberal party commitment to gay and trans people questioned

Margie McCumstie, who was born with a variation of sex characteristics, spoke of her experiences of surgery without her informed consent, and asked what the panel or their parties would do to protect the bodily autonomy of intersex people.

“The Darlington Community Consensus statement and the Australian Human Rights Commission have recommended legal reform to prevent non essential surgical or hormonal interventions before intersex people are old enough to consent,” she said.

“The federal government has a part to play in developing a national approach so that every intersex person in our country can grow up to live a full and dignified life in which they decide what happens to their own bodies.”

Although reform rests mostly with the states and territory governments, panelists agreed it was important for the federal government to work with the intersex community.

“With state law, I always think there’s a role for the federal government to take a leadership role,” Spender said.

Bragg was questioned about the Coalition’s commitment to religious Australians that they would not “go backwards” under a Coalition government.

“I think it’s reasonable that the institutions can be what they want to be, but they cannot discriminate against people,” Bragg said.

“So they can discriminate in favour of their faith, but they cannot discriminate against individuals based on their own personal characteristics.”

When asked if that was his personal view or the Liberal party’s view, Bragg said “that’s our position. I mean, we don’t support discrimination.”

When asked about their commitment to protection for transgender people and access to gender affirming care, each panelist acknowledged the importance of healthcare access.

“We want a Medicare system that works for all,” said Thwaites.

“I think that it’s important we have the best possible evidence guiding this work.”

She and Spender both also spoke to the transphobia being weaponised by politicians, and stated their commitment against using the trans and gender diverse community as a “political football”.

“We just have to fight that with leadership, showing that the trans community is important part of of the community is a very important part of my community and a part of the community I’m very proud to support,” Spender said.

A recent report from Equality Australia found that almost 1 million LGBTQIA+ voters will take to the polls in the federal election this year, with 1 in 5 still undecided on their vote.

“We represent a powerful voting bloc,” said Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown. “Together with our allies we have the collective strength to influence policy directions and electoral outcomes.”

“Our voices matter, our votes count, and our community’s concerns deserve to be addressed with substantive policy solutions.”