Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) (16:30): I speak in favour of the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023, introduced by the member for Sydney. I will not use all the time that I can under the standing orders because, to be honest, I want the bill to pass through the Parliament as quickly as possible. The member for Sydney is a tireless and effective advocate for his electorate and for the LGBTIQ+ community. He understands well the power of working across this House for a greater good. I commend the member for Sydney on his effort and his commitment to collaboration, which has resulted in a bill that enables support from across the benches. I also acknowledge the member for North Shore for her support for the bill. The issues it addresses are fundamentally human, and I thank her for her humanity in helping to bring our laws in those spaces into the modern era.
Trans people are already using public bathrooms, and transwomen are already accessing women's spaces. As the Minister for Women, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, I know that women and children are most often at risk of violence at the hands of a man they already know. That includes transwomen. Trans people should feel welcome and safe in our community, and the support for the bill demonstrates our shared commitment to doing that. At its heart, the bill is about allowing people to be who they are and to have that recognised in law.
To that end, one of the most significant legislative changes is to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 to give people the right to have their birth certificate amended to accurately reflect their sex. The proposed change will enable a person's sex to align with the sex by which they identify on arguably the most important identity document they have. It allows that to happen without requiring a person to undergo major surgery that they might not want to have or that may not be accessible to them. Particularly for children and young people up to 18 years of age, who can only change their record with their parents' consent, I believe the ability to amend their birth certificate will have significant positive outcomes, regardless of the choices they make in relation to their bodies. The amendment is not radical—New South Wales is the last jurisdiction in Australia to allow a person to have the sex on their birth certificate changed without undergoing surgery.
I am also pleased to support amendments to the Crime (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act that will classify outing or threatening to out someone as behaviour that amounts to domestic abuse. LGBTIQ+ people experience distinct forms of domestic and family violence, especially violence referred to as identity-based abuse. That includes threatening to out a person's gender, sexuality, HIV status or intersex status, or exiling a person from a family due to their sexuality or gender. The bill recognises that threats to out someone are a powerful form of control and appropriately classifies them as abuse. That is especially true in rural and regional areas, where people are more isolated and may be deterred from seeking help due to the fear of stigma and shame.
The amendments strengthen protections for LGBTQI+ people who experience domestic and family violence. Those and other amendments in the equality bill represent important steps forward in ensuring that transgender and intersex persons enjoy equal rights and protections under the law in New South Wales. The bill brings our laws into the twenty-first century and better meets wider community expectations. As I said at the outset, I am very pleased to support the bill. I commend the bill to the House.
