Victoria's proposed "anti-hate" laws - good or bad news for LGB people?

The Victorian Government plans to introduce new anti-vilification protections for protected attributes, including "sexual orientation", "sex" and "gender identity".

LGB Alliance Australia holds deep concerns about crimes and anti-social behaviour directed at individuals on the basis of same-sex attraction. We agree that more should be done to promote social cohesion and support victimised individuals.

We see some value in the Victorian Government's promises to extend anti-vilification measures to protect Victorians living with HIV/AIDS and to address threats of violence and property damage on grounds of protected attributes.

However, other aspects of the proposed legislation are very concerning. 

The Government proposes to create an offence against those who "Incite hatred against, serious contempt for, revulsion towards or severe ridicule of, another person or a group of persons on the ground of a protected attribute”.

The Government also proposes to create civil measures to allow individuals and organisations to bring cases against someone whose conduct they believe is "hateful, seriously contemptuous, reviling or severely ridiculing of another person or group with a protected attribute".

These steps seem to involve major over-reach into individuals' live. Voicing a controversial opinion or telling a provocative joke could, under these laws, subject a person to a prison sentence or a punishing civil procedure. Shockingly, such measures could apply even if the conduct in question occurred outside of Victoria or (in the case of the incitement offence) in a person's own home. 

One of the proposed civil measures requires only that the conduct in question is reasonably likely to be considered harmful “from the perspective of a person or a member of a group with that attribute”. This seems a highly subjective measure of harm. 

It is impossible to imagine how such laws could be applied fairly across the board - especially since the definitions of "sexual orientation" and "sex" are very unclear.

Moreover, we think it is likely that such laws will be used by activists for gender identity ideology to intimidate, harass and punish LGB people for speaking about the reality and importance of biological sex to our own lives.

Read our full submission here.