Progressive Labour Party - Official Policy

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Policy

• We live in a society which attempts to dictate sexual preference and gender identity through promoting marriage and the nuclear family as the legitimate institution. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people suffer oppression because their lives are a direct threat to the nuclear family which is an economic cornerstone of capitalism.
• The Progressive Labour Party is opposed to all attempts to shoe horn people into sexual and gender conformity. We believe it is a basic democratic right that the self definition of sexual preference and gender identity should be recognised as a matter of individual choice.
• We acknowledge that heterosexism exists at almost every level in this society and that discrimination on the basis sexual orientation and gender identity is entrenched in all of the key institutions of society: education, health, the law, the media, family, church and state.
• The Progressive Labour Party is an organisation which represents the working class in all its diversity.

The PLP:

1. strongly supports the right of its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members to be open about their sexual and gender preference;
2. will publicly acknowledge the diversity of sexual and gender identities within its membership and promote a broad range of human sexuality and domestic arrangements in its campaign materials;
3. recognises that homophobia is divisive and will not tolerate homophobia within it ranks;
4. reaffirms the right enshrined in our constitution that all oppressed groups have the right to form caucuses within the PLP.

The Progressive Labour Party demands:

(1) Legal Reform

• enforceable anti-discrimination legislation to protect lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, people living with HIV/AIDS and transgendered people.
• Removal of existing exemptions for private schools, insurance industry, tax system, superannuation etc; equalisation of age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual acts;
• the removal of all references to homosexuality in the crimes act the repeal of Summary Offences laws which allow police to entrap and harass gay sex workers;
• anti-homophobia education programs for the legal profession; the right of transgendered people to be issued with passports, drivers licences and other documents specifying the gender of their choice.

(2) Equality for same sex partners

• extend to same sex relationships equal status with heterosexual de factos in superannuation, immigration, taxation, family law, industrial relations and any other laws and regulations;
• the right of gays and lesbians to choose to marry if they so wish;
• independent incomes [Newstart, Pensions etc] for all regardless of relationship status. No state enforced economic dependency.

(3) The right of gays lesbians to parent

• the right of gay men and lesbians to adopt or foster children;
• no discrimination against gay men or lesbians in child custody cases.

(4) Rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth

• quality, factual and non-moralistic sex education in schools;
• education programs to counter homophobia and anti-gay violence in schools;
• funding for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth programs including refuges and housing services, health services, coming out, self esteem and suicide prevention programs;
• independent incomes for young people free from a parental means test.

(5) Positive representations in the mass media, culture and public life

• support for Pride Marches, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, film and video festivals and other queer community events;
• defend and extend gay, lesbian and transgender programming on the ABC, SBS and community broadcasters;
• an end to the vicious and destructive portrayal of gay men, lesbians and transgender people in some sections of the media.

(6) An end to police harassment

• an immediate halt to police harassment, brutality and entrapment;
• anti-homophobia education programs for the police;
• establish elected community review boards to discipline and sack police who harass members of the queer community.

(7) Rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered workers

• promotion of strong policies within unions to defend gay, lesbian and transgendered workers;
• support for the establishment of gay and lesbian caucuses within trade unions;
• opposition to the homophobic exemptions which exclude gays and lesbians who work with children from anti-discrimination protections.
• Support for gay and lesbian teachers, youth workers and child care workers.

(8) Equality in immigration

• equal treatment for gay men, lesbians and transgendered people in immigration. recognise same sex relationships;
• no discriminatory immigration quotas;
• remove HIV status from the health tests for visas.

(9) Equality in the defence forces

• full equality for gays, lesbians, transgendered people and people with HIV/AIDS in the Australian Defence Forces.

Policy as amended and endorsed at Progressive Labour Party National Conference, Canberra, 7 June 1998.