Image: Incumbent Prahran state Liberal MP Clem Newton-Brown (Photo: Benjamin Riley; Star Observer)
OVER the past four years, it has been a privilege to represent the people of Prahran, Toorak, Windsor, St Kilda, St Kilda East and South Yarra in the Victorian Parliament.
During this time, I have been committed to ensuring that services provided by the Napthine Government take into account the needs of LGBTI people in Victoria.
Working with my Coalition colleagues and ministers to achieve positive outcomes for Victoria’s LGBTI community has been a very rewarding experience. These outcomes include: support for the AIDS 2014 conference; increased funding for Midsumma Festival from $10,000 to $50,000 over the 2014-2017 period; amending the Mental Health Act to ensure that gender identity can never be defined as a mental illness; investing $4 million into mental health projects targeting LGBTI youth; initiating and opening PRONTO!, the first community centre for HIV rapid testing in Australia; committing to amend Section 19A of the Crimes Act to ensure it is non-discriminatory; and establishing a Ministerial Advisory Committee on LGBTI Health and Wellbeing.
However, for me, the most significant and personally moving act of the Napthine Government was developing and passing legislation that expunges historic consensual homosexual sex convictions held by gay men.
It was Liberal Premier Rupert Hamer who decriminalised homosexuality in Victoria in 1980. In the Federal Parliament and in almost every other Australian state it was Liberal governments that acted to right a wrong that turned otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals due to their sexual orientation. [Editor’s note: there was bipartisan support in every state when the laws were reformed, and the changes came about after activists lobbied MPs]
Decriminalisation was arguably the most significant step in the fight for acceptance by the gay community (lesbians were never targeted by the Crimes Act). Decriminalisation laid a fundamental base for further advances to be made by the LGBTI community in its quest for equality and freedom from discrimination. However, the move to decriminalisation did not address the issue of those who had already been convicted.
The impact of the stigma associated with a criminal conviction cannot be underestimated, particularly for those gay men who have otherwise lived law-abiding lives. The mental burden of a criminal record for those convicted of homosexuality must be significant.
Noel Tovey is one such person who has lived with a criminal conviction for homosexual sex. One evening in 1951, Tovey was at a party in inner-city Melbourne. The party was raided by the police and he confessed to having participated in a homosexual act. He was charged with the crime of having sex with another man and served three months in Pentridge prison where he was bashed and raped.
It is difficult to believe that this occurred in our society just six decades ago.
The time was right for the Liberal Coalition in Victoria to compliment this significant legacy of Hamer by finishing the job. We needed to show the elderly gay members of our community who were convicted of these “crimes” the respect and acceptance for their sexual orientation that they should always have had by erasing their criminal records for good.
I am so proud that, with the support of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Premier Denis Napthine and the Attorney-General confirmed that Victoria will implement a scheme whereby gay men can apply to expunge their historic criminal records for homosexual sex between consenting adults. This was passed into legislation this year.
It was an important and significant gesture. It was the right thing to do.
The Victorian Coalition supports the rights of all people to be free of unjust discrimination and to be protected from unlawful vilification and harassment.
The Napthine Government is pleased to confirm that, if re-elected, we will maintain the Ministerial Advisory Committee on LGBTI Health and Wellbeing after the election to continue its work and advice to government.
Additionally, a re-elected Napthine Government will also commit to the continuation of the Safe Schools Coalition and will commit to an increased investment of $4.9 million for the prevention of mental health issues faced by same-sex attracted and gender-questioning young people through the HEY Program.
I look forward to delivering the LGBTI Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2014-2018 as part of the Napthine Government’s commitment to address the health issues faced by LGBTI Victorians and to developing a paper exploring the issues around same-sex adoption.
I am proud to support the diverse people who make up the LGBTI community and was honoured to recently be nominated as a finalist for the Straight Ally of the Year GLOBE award.
In my Maiden Speech to the Victorian Parliament in 2011, I offered my support for same-sex marriage and for the LGBTI community.
In 2014, I stand by this commitment.
Clem Newton-Brown is the incumbent MP for Prahran in the Legislative Assembly of Victorian Parliament. He represents the Liberal Party. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
RELATED: Why Victoria would benefit from an openly-gay MP — by Labor’s Neil Pharoah
RELATED: I will continue to stand up for LGBTI rights — by Greens’ Sue Pennicuik
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As our local member Clem is a nice guy. But I can’t and won’t support a government that allowed senior members (eg attorney general) to give the key note address at the far right Christian conference. A group that supports gay hate crimes in Russia. No government that truly supports our community would allow that to happen in the first place. And secondly when brought to light the, Denis the menace, Ckem and co were happy not to intervene.
That to me speaks volumes of the true conservative agenda.
All the other stuff courting our vote is too late.
Sex party a major party, I don’t think so.
The audacity… The hypocrisy… Unbelievable….
I won’t be voting for him & his FACIST Party ,next. Job is to get rid of the FACISTS in Canberra.
Libs do not support equal marriage rights. Clem your time has well & truly expired.
You have to be kidding me.
Adrian Jay, Tony Abbott’s opposition to marriage equality is what the Liberal party stand for, both federally and at state level.
star observer supporting this mob…..are you kidding me?
We have not endorsed any political party and we do not intend to do so, either. We have also published opeds by Labor, Greens and Sex Party candidates re: the Victorian election.
Star, featuring Clem is featuring Libs – They are not at all equal opportunists toward past marginalized members of society/community & they do not stand for equality.
I will never vote Liberal as long as Abbott is leading them!!
Um, this is Victorian State politics. Abbott leads the Federal Liberal party. Different levels of government…
Same old Liberals regardless.
So it took Clem and his party four years to figure out that they should expunge these historic convictions, conveniently just before the election, and we should be happy? Furthermore are we supposed to just forget that one of the first acts of this government was to repeal LGBTI protections under the Equal Opportunity Act?
What a terrible ‘ally’ of the LGBTI community Clem Newton-Brown is. Time to get rid of him and his shameful government.
I don’t congratulate one pro-gay liberal when his party continues to discriminate against queer people
Agreed
Sorry Clem, but you can’t vote against equal opportunity laws in the Parliament and expect us to vote for you in an election. Do you think we’re stupid?
here here.
First action in power… voting for religious exemptions allowing discrimination against LGBT citizens.
Issues such as 19A removal – previously incorrectly reported by Star Observer as having passed – are a wavering variable commitment. As pointed out to me by many HIV/AIDS community workers and activists, the wording of the Napthine/Newton-Brown commitment re 19A has been unclear and has varied from their unconsulted announcement at AIDS2014, through various changes in different settings, to whoever knows what now.
I am proud the Lib Govt supported expungement, it is a shame they took so long.
Great member