Call for uniform anti-discrimination laws

By Kath Gelber SYDNEY — Following the First National Conference on Violence Against Gay Men and Lesbians held here on October 28 and 29, organised by the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Australian Council of Lesbian and Gay Rights (ACLGR) has endorsed a call for uniform national anti-discrimination legislation. Other outcomes include a national strategy for the prevention of violence against lesbians and gays, the development of a national system to record hate crimes, and a call for the introduction, by education ministers, of a national curriculum on homophobic violence. The ACLGR also condemned current federal government moves to legislate to limit compliance with Australia's international treaty obligations. The federal government is moving to overrule a recent High Court decision that public servants must comply with the international treaties to which Australia is a signatory. The move has the support of both major parties. The ACLGR warns that, if passed, the legislation could have negative ramifications, not only for lesbian and gay rights, but for all human rights. For example, the federal government's 1994 privacy legislation which overrides Tasmania's anti-gay laws was framed with reference to Australia's international human rights obligations and enacted following a UN decision that Tasmania's anti-gay laws contravened international human rights provisions. The WA Greens are campaigning against the proposed legislation.