Barnett confirms no rollback policy on law reforms
Written by Gavin McGuren
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Western Australia's gay and lesbian lobby group has welcomed confirmation that recently elected Opposition Leader, Colin Barnett, will not seek to amend or roll back law reforms enacted in 2002.
Speaking on ABC radio's Perth's Mornings With Geoff Hutchison, Mr Barnett, confirmed that the Liberal Party no longer has concerns over the operations or effects of the law.
"No, we are not proposing to change the legislation. I think it has worked well and I have had no complaints," Mr Barnett said in response to a question from a talkback caller over age of consent and reproductive technology laws.
"I did have some concerns about some parts of it, but I have not seen any adverse consequence."
The Opposition Leader restated his support for retaining the laws at the Perth Press Club the same afternoon.
The Liberal Party has previously raised concerns about adoption, access to reproductive technologies, access to the Family Court and the age of consent for gay males.
Gay and Lesbian Equality WA (GALEWA) spokesperson Rod Swift said the Liberal Party's confirmation that they would retain all aspects of the gay and lesbian law reform package was good news.
"We welcome Mr Barnett's comments that his initial fears about these laws have now passed, and that the Liberal Party proposes no rollback of these key areas of equality," Mr Swift said.
"We hope the Liberal Party will meet with us to discuss further initiatives to improve the lives of WA's gay and lesbian citizens, including adequate funding for health and welfare services and further work in combatting homophobia in schools and the community."
GALE has written to Mr Barnett seeking a meeting to discuss further issues facing the gay and lesbian community.
Comments (1)
I don't believe him.. written by Aram, September 01, 2008 - 10:23:34 am CDT
I believe the Libs have no intention to roll back the economic reforms.. I don't believe that they'll leave adoption and IVF alone.
Why? Shadow Attorney General Christian Porter: "Colin Barnett's position is that he is not going to roll back the legislative reforms. It is safe to say that the recent case of gay men being enabled by those laws to adopt, and it very difficult to comment on the specifics of that situation because by legilsation the details are not openly available.. but in circumstances where you have about five local children put for adoption every year and hundreds of parents, we have serius concerns about the practical effect of child welfare in those situations of children adopted to gay parents."
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The 2008 Pride Parade may have been among the smallest, and certainly
the fastest in Pride's 19 years, but it remains a relevant and
important event according to this year's convenor, Charles Denham.
Gay favourite Rachel Berger is among the headliners this year as the Wild West Comedy Fest returns
to Perth for 26 days of hilarity and hijinks. Other Australian comedy
stars on the bill include Bob Franklin, Tom Gleeson, Fiona O’Loughlin
and Scared Little Weird
Guys.
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according to festival convenor, Kieran Bycroft. While some events did
less well than expected, many attracted good crowds and some film and
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perfect night out. However amid the fifth round of drinks and
renditions of I Kissed a Girl, you can't help but feel a rift over the
dance floor.
From the Pride theatre and film seasons through to the Great Gay &
Lesbian Debate, Parade and Party, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's
Pride Festival. View footage from the debate and Parade and read about my festival highlights and the challenges I think Pride faces next year.
In winning today’s Presidential election, Barack Obama has provided the
world with the opportunity for a new beginning and his country with the
opportunity to put the disastrous Bush years behind it.
For some time now it's been popular among members of Generation Y to
declare that something is "so gay" to indicate that it's dumb, silly,
bad, ugly, unattractive, geeky, embarrassing, gaudy or even just plain
dull. That’s so gay. That’s so gay.
That’s so gay. It's the dull that hurts the most.
While I may not be the first person to go out on a limb and declare
that Barack Obama will win this year's Presidential election, I may be
among the first to declare that Sarah Palin will win the Republican
nomination and challenge him in 2012. That is, if she hasn't
bankrupted the Republicans with her wardrobe expenses first.
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The 2008 Pride Parade may have been among the smallest, and certainly
the fastest in Pride's 19 years, but it remains a relevant and
important event according to this year's convenor, Charles Denham.
Gay favourite Rachel Berger is among the headliners this year as the Wild West Comedy Fest returns
to Perth for 26 days of hilarity and hijinks. Other Australian comedy
stars on the bill include Bob Franklin, Tom Gleeson, Fiona O’Loughlin
and Scared Little Weird
Guys.
Rebuilding trust was the key to the success of this year's Pride events
according to festival convenor, Kieran Bycroft. While some events did
less well than expected, many attracted good crowds and some film and
theatre sessions were sold out.
African-American and Latino voters were a powerful force in electing Barack Obama and also in passing Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. Exit polls
showed 70 percent of black voters, and a majority of Latino
voters, voted yes to the ban. More 
Three US states passed amendments banning same-sex marriage in the historic vote that also saw the election of the nation's first black president. Voters in California, Arizona and Florida approved proposals to outlaw same-sex
marriage. More 
Having failed to save same-sex marriage, GLBT Californians are taking their fight to court. City attorneys from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara will seek to invalidate Proposition 8 on the grounds that it conflicts with the equal
protection pillars of the state Constitution. More 
Malaysian police raided four gay "parties" on the weekend and arrested some 70 people after finding DVDs, gay magazines, lubricants and boxes of condom. A small reminder to be cautious in Malaysia and Singapore, where the aptly named Straits Times gleefully prints your photo. Details 
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vile and crazy Rev Fred Phelps speaks out for the first time about the violent abuse he
suffered at the hands of his father. Read it 
US analysis of data on 53,567 men who have sex with other men has
found that circumcision is ineffective in reducing HIV rates.
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Australian Olympic gold medalist, Matthew Mitcham, is proud but also sad to have been the only gay in the village at Beijing. The champion diver says his decision to come out before the games was a vital part of the gold medal performance that denied China a clean sweep. More 
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China according to new data. There were an estimated 700,000 HIV/AIDS cases in China as of
October 2007, up 8 percent from 2006. Cases among gay and bisexual men jumped to 3.3 percent in 2007 from 0.4 percent in 2005. More 
Dancing in a circle with your friends, it's quickly becoming the
perfect night out. However amid the fifth round of drinks and
renditions of I Kissed a Girl, you can't help but feel a rift over the
dance floor.
From the Pride theatre and film seasons through to the Great Gay &
Lesbian Debate, Parade and Party, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's
Pride Festival. View footage from the debate and Parade and read about my festival highlights and the challenges I think Pride faces next year.
In winning today’s Presidential election, Barack Obama has provided the
world with the opportunity for a new beginning and his country with the
opportunity to put the disastrous Bush years behind it.
For some time now it's been popular among members of Generation Y to
declare that something is "so gay" to indicate that it's dumb, silly,
bad, ugly, unattractive, geeky, embarrassing, gaudy or even just plain
dull. That’s so gay. That’s so gay.
That’s so gay. It's the dull that hurts the most.
While I may not be the first person to go out on a limb and declare
that Barack Obama will win this year's Presidential election, I may be
among the first to declare that Sarah Palin will win the Republican
nomination and challenge him in 2012. That is, if she hasn't
bankrupted the Republicans with her wardrobe expenses first.
The global financial meltdown and impending economic Armageddon may
have an unexpected upside. For the first time in half a generation,
there may finally be a pool of people with the time on their
hands necessary to build exciting Parade floats.
written by Aram, September 01, 2008 - 10:23:34 am CDT
I believe the Libs have no intention to roll back the economic reforms.. I don't believe that they'll leave adoption and IVF alone.
Why?
Shadow Attorney General Christian Porter: "Colin Barnett's position is that he is not going to roll back the legislative reforms. It is safe to say that the recent case of gay men being enabled by those laws to adopt, and it very difficult to comment on the specifics of that situation because by legilsation the details are not openly available.. but in circumstances where you have about five local children put for adoption every year and hundreds of parents, we have serius concerns about the practical effect of child welfare in those situations of children adopted to gay parents."