In Parliament today, the SA Greens called on the Malinauskas Government to act to ban conversion practices, in line with SA Labor’s 2022 election promise.
SA Greens Parliamentary Co-Leader, Tammy Franks MLC raised the issue in Question Time, urging the Malinauskas Government to act on their pre-election commitment to end harmful conversion practices in South Australia.
Quotes attributable to Tammy Franks MLC:
“It is deeply concerning that harmful and damaging conversion practices are continuing legally in SA and currently do so with no impediments. Even though we know that these practices aimed at the reorientation of LGBTIQA+ people are extremely damaging to a person’s long-term health and happiness.”
“The Premier has said to the people of South Australia that he will keep all his election promises. Two years on we are still waiting. It’s simply not good enough. The Greens are ready, willing and able to assist the Government with legislation that bans damaging conversion practices. There’s no reason this promise can’t be kept.”
“According to a 2018 Human Rights Law Centre report, up to 10 per cent of LGBTIQ Australians are vulnerable to harmful conversion practices, which emerged in Australian conservative Christian communities in the 1970s.
That report stated that modern conversion practices can range from counselling or prayer groups to more sinister practices such as surgery, hormone injections and psychoanalytic therapies, used to try to “change or supress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender and sexual expression”.
“Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have all implemented bans on conversion practices.”