Pride in Protest on Equality Bill: ‘We Don’t Have to Wait in Our Fight For Rights’

Last month saw the New South Wales Parliament pass the Equality Bill, introduced by Independent MP Alex Greenwich. Star Observer interviewed Greenwich and Rainbow Labor convenors about the Bill, and addressed the many protections that were scrapped in order to get it over the line.

Since then, the activist collective has asked for a right of reply to the story, in order to reply to Greenwich referencing statements the group had made about the Bill.

Star Observer talked to Pride in Protest members, Damien Nguyen and Evan Gray, the former of who is running for the Mardi Gras Director Board this coming December.

Pride in Protest have been outspoken about their disappointment at the concessions made by Greenwich and Rainbow Labor, posting a statement on 14 October, writing “any bill that leaves glaring exemptions for hate and discrimination, are simply not good enough. This is not the Equality Bill anymore.”

“This was the decision of a man who is not affected by the principles of the Bill, who, rather than turning towards the community who are affected, made a decision to concede,” elaborated Gray. “Opening up that decision would have given us space to fight for ourselves, and perhaps create a more progressive Bill with more meaningful wins.”

Pride in Protest’s points are echoed by other members of the community, including the Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, who posted that while the Greens recognised the legislation as a significant step forward, she was “so sad, disappointed and despondent that NSW Labor has prevented the full Equality Bill being passed through the Parliament.”

The Independent Education Union also expressed their dissatisfaction with the gutting of the Bill, and called on Greenwich to restore protections for LGBTQI+ school staff.

Pride in Protest say a ‘huge chunk of the community’ has been blocked

“Unfortunately, we’re at a space where we can’t actually debate openly because Alex is not consulting with the community and has now blocked a huge chunk of the community [on social media] which, unfortunately, is centring his feelings rather than the movement,” Gray said.

When reached out to for a comment on this, Alex Greenwich told Star Observer “I have a strict social media policy that removes false, misleading, defamatory, or abusive comments. This is in the interest of the safety and wellbeing of those who follow my work, and their right to accurate information.”

Pride in Protest say it’s a lack of dialogue between MPs and community that is a central issue in the passing of the Equality Bill. Nguyen highlighted the feelings of betrayal many in the community were experiencing.

“For the past year, the community has been campaigning on this bill as well as Alex. Actually, I would say that we have put in a lot of the grunt work to fight for these reforms to happen… These reforms are about the community itself.”

Gray expanded, “the decisions that he gets to make are not the decisions that the community has made, and that is something that’s hobbling this movement.”

‘This is all down to Labor being conservative, at the end of the day’

Pride in Protest criticised the conservatism of NSW Labor, stating that they were a significant part of the gutting of the Equality Bill.

“We know that the Animal Justice Party, the Greens, the Legalise Cannabis Party, and for all their pinkwashing of Labor’s position, the Teals, supported the Equality Bill, and there would have been the numbers to pass,” Gray said. “This is all down to Labor being conservative, at the end of the day.”

When the Star interviewed Greenwich after the Bill’s passing, he spoke about choosing progress over defeat, a sentiment that Pride in Protest vehemently disagree with, calling it “false framing”.

“It is Alex himself who moved those amendments, essentially the dirty work for the Labor Party. It would have been completely different if he had essentially put up the bill in full, as the community demanded, as his constituents have demanded, and then Labor moved those amendments,” Nguyen said.

“It’s not progress over defeat, it’s actually about whether or not you represent your constituents, and whether or not there is transparency around what the community demands, how we win, and how we challenge a bigoted Labor government.”

In their statement after the Equality Bill was passed, Pride in Protest wrote that they would protest anyone at Mardi Gras claiming to be an ally, if they didn’t take “meaningful action on all issues raised by the Equality Bill”. This decision is held by a majority of the LGBTQIA+ community, with the motion to do so passing at the Mardi Gras AGM earlier this year.

“Labor and the Liberal Party, if any of their state MPs show up, they deserve to be protested.. And so if they set foot in our spaces trying to get a photo op without having committed to this bill, then actually they’re not welcome, and they know that.”

No protections for sex workers, educators and students under Anti-Discrimination Act

Pride in Protest also highlighted the lack of protection for sex workers, who had been pushing for protection under the Anti-Discrimination Act.

ADA protections already exist in other states, including Victoria, Queensland, and the Northern Territory, and have all been passed by Labor governments.

As the Equality Bill didn’t include ADA protections, these have now been deferred to the Law Reform Commission, an independent statutory agency that can take multiple terms to process reforms.

“At the moment, sex workers are still discriminated against in major institutions such as housing, such as civilian workplaces or everyday jobs, and also banks, so your bank account can be frozen because of that,” Nguyen explained. “And these are actually really fundamental reforms that Alex pitched the Equality Bill to the community at these major sex worker forums, and just in a second, he carved them out.”

Gray, an early childhood educator and dual member of the United Services and United Workers unions, spoke about the ramifications the amended Bill would have in the education sector.

“People are getting the sack now. Children are being pushed into the closet now,” they said. “What a lot of people don’t realise is that the Christian Lives Matter stuff last year, a number of bosses in the early learning sector were involved in Christian Lives matter and were putting forward child protection complaints against educators who are having short hair or who are too colourful. That’s the kind of stuff that’s going on.”

Pride in Protest ‘We don’t have to wait in our fight for rights’

Although the Equality Bill didn’t deliver all the protections it had originally promised, Pride in Protest feels strongly that the LGBTQIA+ community doesn’t have to wait for government support in order to make progress.

They’re currently working with other community organisations to free multiple transgender women from Villawood Detention Center, as well as supporting and organising a community rally for Trans Day of Resistance this weekend.

“We don’t have to wait in our fight for rights,” Gray said. “We don’t have to wait for the Law Reform Commission.

“And I would put out the invitation to Rainbow Labor — we’re putting motions in our unions to try to get progress and pressure the Labor Party. I would really make the invitation to Rainbow Labor, put out the motions actually criticising Minns and hold him to account. Put those motions in your Labor Party, and come and join the protests… we can only do this as a united movement.”