Judging Labor’s LGBTQIA+ record
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Judging Labor’s LGBTQIA+ record
Just.Equal spokesperson Rodney Croome analyses Labor’s record on LGBTQIA+ issues ahead of the federal election.
As we approach the 2025 federal election, it may be hard for some LGBTQIA+ voters to make an assessment of Labor’s LGBTQIA+ commitments.
The Coalition has made it easy to assess theirs. They support very few pro-LGBTQIA+ measures and strongly support measures like a right to “religious freedom” that would override LGBTQIA+ discrimination protections.
The Australian Greens also make it easy. They support a wide range of LGBTQIA+ reforms, although it’s probably time they updated their LGBTQIA+ policies to reflect more current and coming issues.
Meanwhile, Labor has a mixed record that is harder to make a snap judgement about.
A good illustration of the problem is the huge disparity between Equality Australia’s assessment of Labor’s record and the assessment of LGBTI Rights Australia. This reflects their biases. The former is almost all ticks for Labor while the latter allocates Labor not a single “yes”.
Equality Australia’s scorecard
Equality Australia mainly lists those issues that Labor has delivered on and gives it ticks it probably doesn’t deserve.
For example, Labor may have protected trans and intersex people in the Fair Work Act and banned incitement to violence. But it balked at banning vilification, hasn’t committed to protecting state and territory anti-discrimination laws from a “religious freedom” override, and broke its promise to protect LGBTQIA+ staff and students in faith-based schools.
It has even tried to dress up these failures as concern for the wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community, a deeply patronising rationale we should strongly reject. Labor doesn’t deserve a tick for “some commitment” on discrimination and vilification protections.
Neither does Labor deserve a tick for “full commitment” on “health and wellbeing” and “a voice for LGBTIQ+ people”.
Labor may have funded some health initiatives but there is virtually nothing for the frontline services we need.
It may have set up a couple of advisory panels but it refuses to make these panels truly representative and to appoint an LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Commissioner – despite its 2016 promise to appoint one, if elected.
Equality Australia’s 2025 federal election scorecard. Image: supplied.
LGBTI Rights Australia’s scorecard
LGBTI Rights Australia’s bias is in the opposite direction. It only lists issues Labor opposes and none that it supports.
It also lists issues not specifically about the LGBTQIA+ community that Labor doesn’t perform well on.
The divergence is clearest when it comes to the Census. Labor supported counting LGBT people in the Census, then opposed it, then supported it without intersex people or young trans people.
Equality Australia gives Labor a tick for “improving data collections of LGBTIQ+ people” while LGBTI Rights Australia gives it a “no” for not counting all trans and intersex people.How should LGBTQIA+ people judge a party heading into an election?
LGBTI Rights Australia’s 2025 federal election scorecard. Image: supplied.
Giving credit where it’s due
Each party want LGBTQIA+ people to judge it against the party to its immediate right because it want our votes. But my goal as an advocate is to move all parties forward from their former positions and to give credit when this occurs.
This is the best long-term approach because we don’t live in a one-party state and need reform from each new government no matter its stripes.
In effect, this means I judge parties according to whether they have fulfilled their promises and improved their LGBTQIA+ policies since last election.
“I judge parties according to whether they have fulfilled their promises,” writes Rodney Croome.. Photo: supplied.
Labor’s mixed record
By that standard Labor has a very mixed record: as I’ve noted, it has provided more funding than ever before, but this funding is much less than is required. It has reformed some discrimination laws but broken its promises to reform others.
This line isn’t arbitrary. When you look at all Labor’s fulfilled, partly-fulfilled and broken promises there’s a clear pattern.
Labor supports the LGBTQIA+ community when no-one else will notice or care much. This accounts for its funding for some health programs, community initiatives and LGBTQIA+ advocacy overseas.
It struggles when reform will come to the attention of large numbers of other people. This accounts for its vacillation and compromise on counting LGBTQIA+ people in the Census, as well as its failure to appoint an LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Commissioner.
It outright refuses to move forward if reform might impact faith communities. Hence its broken promise on discrimination in religious schools and on vilification.
Clear eyes needed
If Labor wins on Saturday, don’t expect any change. Its strategists will believe the line they’ve drawn has been vindicated.
There are no easy answers to how Labor, and for that matter the Coalition, can be transformed into parties that unequivocally support LGBTQIA+ equality.
But for that transformation to begin we must first be honest about exactly where the problems lie.
Neither of the scorecards I’ve mentioned help. They are either too generous to Labor or too antagonistic.
Our community needs a clearer eye if it is to see exactly where it currently stands and then move forward from there.
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