TAS
Tasmania fails to ban conversion practices by end of year
After recommendations from the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute, Premier Jeremy Rockliff committed to banning conversion practices in Tasmania. However, advocates have become frustrated at the lack of progress since. The 2022 TLRI report found the evidence showed “conversion practices are happening in Tasmania, they have caused severe harm to people subjected to them and are …
Activist Rodney Croome pens moving letter to younger self
Tasmanian LGBTQIA+ rights champion Rodney Croome has reflected on his years of activism in a powerful and personal letter to his younger self. ABC Radio Hobart invited the longtime gay rights campaigner to write and read out the personal letter for a regular segment with presenter Ryk Goddard. Tasmania was the last state in Australia …
Demand for inquest into death of trans prisoner Marjorie Harwood
The Family of Transgender prisoner Marjorie Harwood is calling for an inquest into her death after her abuse in Tasmania’s Risdon Prison. Marjorie Harwood identified as a woman but authorities placed her with men at the Risdon Prison. First arrested in 2009, Marjorie then alleged she suffered verbal and sexual assaults by other inmates. She …
A-G’s resignation prompts concerns for Tasmanian Law Reform
The resignation of Attorney-General Elise Archer raises concerns about the future of Tasmanian Law Reform. Current acting Attorney-General Michael Ferguson’s track record does not inspire confidence among LGBTQIA+ Tasmanians. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockcliff requested Elise Archer’s resignation from cabinet on Friday. The request followed allegations of bullying and leaked messages in which she insulted parliamentary …
Tassie’s Expungement Bill better but show us the money
Tasmania’s proposed Expungement of Historical Offences Bill improves on previous 2016 legislation but does not go far enough says Equality Tasmania. Expungement of Historical Offences Bill The new bill is a response to an independent review of landmark legislation passed in 2016. The Hodgman Liberal Government legislated then to allow the expungement of historical gay …
Tasmanian Government officially adds the “A” to LGBTIQ+
The State Government of Tasmania has become the first in Australia to officially acknowledge asexual, aromatic and agender people by adding an “A” to the acronym that it uses to refer to sexual and gender minorities. Advocates for Tasmania’s asexual, aromantic and agender community made the case for inclusion to the state’s Whole-of-Government LGBTIQ+ Reference …
Anti-trans billboard erected in Tasmania for Pride Month
A billboard in Tasmania is sparking concern after being erected to spread an anti-trans message during Pride Month. LGB Tasmania (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Tasmania), a group known for excluding trans and gender diverse individuals, were behind raising the billboard, which reads “Let Kids be Kids”. While seemingly innocuous at first glance, the phrase also has …
Vandals deface trans woman’s memorial with hateful slur
A Tasmanian transgender woman’s memorial has been vandalised with a hateful anti-trans slogan, prompting advocates to call for leaders to speak out against anti-trans hate. Warning: distressing Hobart woman Marjorie Harwood died in 2018 following a horrific sexual assault in a men’s prison in Hobart. Vandals targeted the memorial to her (above), spray-painting it with …
MP has a new nickname for Posie Parker after she targeted his family
A Tasmanian Greens MP has handed anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, known online as Posie Parker, a brutal new nickname after she targeted his family, in a fiery spray in the Senate. Kellie-Jay has toured Australia for a week. But in capital cities her supporters were vastly outnumbered by trans rights activists. Her event in Melbourne …
Launceston Examiner prints front page apology for fake trans incident letter
The Examiner Newspaper has printed a front-page apology for publishing an anti-trans letter to the editor that was later found to be fabricated. The Examiner, the second-largest newspaper in Tasmania, published the letter under the headline “Girls getting changed, then in walks a man”. The letter detailed a supposed incident in which a man had started …
