Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (16:31): I rise to speak on this matter of public importance (MPI) with a sense of sadness—sadness and disappointment that we should even have to be putting up a matter such as this, sadness that we are needing to revisit in this Parliament a matter as fundamental as the right to love and live free from bigotry and violence, and sadness that this matter of public importance is required now to be put up to solidify, safeguard and reaffirm the laws our Labor government enacted so many months ago to protect these rights.

At a time when Victorians are turning their minds to the future recovery of our state, those opposite are more focused on arguing about watering down our laws to ban conversion therapy. Our government, the Labor government, committed to outlawing these practices in response to the health complaints commissioner’s inquiry, which uncovered evidence of serious harm caused by attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, harm that spans from complex trauma through to physical violence, harm that embeds in the very soul of a person—their self-worth, as the member for Oakleigh has so eloquently put it today.

In February 2021 we passed laws that made this type of action unlawful. The legislation was welcomed by survivors and the broader community. It was an emotional day, symbolic as well as tangible in its impact. Now, as I said, it pains me to have to stand here and have this debate again. We all know why we are here, the catalyst for this debate. I will not rehash any of those hesitancies and uncertainties we know linger in those opposite, except to say this: we could have let this moment slip by. We could have said nothing, turned our heads and quietly moved on, but we are not about that. This government and every person on this side of the chamber is about speaking up—speaking up for equality, speaking up for fairness, speaking up against violence.

We will not let this moment pass, because in that moment passing is complicity itself. In that moment passing, harm is inflicted. Too many of those moments happen every day for those in our LGBTIQ community, too many moments of harsh words given implicit approval, of subtle jibes falling by the wayside or of overt discrimination going unspoken and unchallenged. Every time that happens it is a signal to all those who suffer under stigma and ridicule, all those who self-censor who they are for fear of rejection, all those who fight to stand proud in themselves—that they are in it alone. Well, they are not alone, because we are standing up side-by-side with them. We are standing up in this house of Parliament with them and for them.

This MPI asks this house to note that the important protections in the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 should not be revoked, removed or amended. In doing so we reaffirm our commitment to these laws and our fight for equality. We reaffirm that no person should be subjected to attempts to have their sexuality or gender identity forcibly changed. We reaffirm that no person should ever be made to feel like they need to change such a fundamental part of who they are.

Earlier this year we saw many heartfelt contributions, thoughtful contributions, on this bill from all sides of this chamber. The debate was, in the main, measured and sensitive. Indeed we had the Premier stand up to address the bill, and the power of those words still resonates. He said:

Imagine not being able to tell your truth because so many had revealed theirs: prejudice, fear and judgement. No-one should have to hide who they are or who they love, let alone apologise for it. Stigma and prejudice are everywhere for our LGBTQI communities—sometimes subtle, always brutal.

We also had the member for Oakleigh give a contribution which was incredibly moving and personal and raw. His contribution today was outstanding, but what he recounted in his original speech really touched the heart of these issues. He spoke about the damage to your confidence, to your spirit and to your relationships but perhaps most heartbreakingly the lost potential and lost opportunities had you but had the confidence, strength and self-worth that come from simply having who you are affirmed.

There were so many other heartfelt contributions to that historic debate. The members for Burwood, Yan Yean and Ringwood all come to mind. Though there was much variety in what was said across so many different personal experiences, at the core of what was conveyed was the deep and abiding pain felt when someone is told they are innately wrong, because that is the basis on which so-called ‘conversion therapy’ occurs. It is based on an absurd and harmful assumption that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse, intersex, queer and questioning people are broken and need to be fixed—and nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing could be further from our values as an inclusive, diverse and just society.

So the question naturally arises of those opposite: which part of the legislation would they seek to repeal or amend? Which right to freedom and protection from bigotry and violence would they now like to strip from Victorians? Yes, our laws should be scrutinised and reviewed. That is why provisions exist for that. But it sounds like the member for Kew wants to pre-empt this review, this independent review—like they have already made their conclusions and already decided to support watering down these laws.

Mr T Smith: On a point of order, Speaker, I do not really wish to be moving this point of order, because the tone and tenor of this debate has been respectful. I said no such thing, and I would ask the member to withdraw her comment about me pre-empting the independent review.

The SPEAKER: I cannot ask the member to withdraw a comment that has not genuinely caused offence to the member, which is more a point of debate. It may be something that is picked up in debate further in this MPI.

Ms THEOPHANOUS: I do not want to debate the legislation again, but I am also conscious that there has been some very misleading material put forward about the act, so I just want to clarify a few things that the act does not do. It does not ban free speech, it does not penalise thoughts or ideas, it does not place a prohibition on faith leaders informing people of their faith’s view of gender and sexuality, it does not penalise anyone explaining the tenets of their faith, it does not prevent parents from raising their children in their faith, it does not ban schools from teaching religion, it does not ban prayer. What it does do is prevent anyone from attempting to change another person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This legislation is about protecting people from abusive, harmful and hateful practices. It is about simply letting people be who they are. What it is not about is the people that that might offend. The barriers faced by the LGBTIQ community are hard enough as it is. They do not need the pile-on from people who cannot seem to come to terms with basic human rights.

I have never experienced the uniquely ugly kind of hate that is manifested by those holding prejudice against our LGBTIQ community. The closest I can liken it to is the racism I have experienced throughout my life and the reverberating impact of those sometimes subtle, sometimes overt markers that you are not quite as you should be. It is that low-level, embedded, socialised fear of rejection that eats away at your self-esteem and your self-worth, that constant awareness of being part of a minority when every human instinct, every learned behaviour, tells us to blend into the collective because that is where it is safe.

I have heard from people close to me that coming out is a lifelong burden—at the playground, in the bank, with colleagues, to doctors, to new friends. Every day LGBTIQ people must traverse that anxious tightrope between living their authentic, beautiful selves or straying too far from safety, too far from the norm. I want to pause and say thank you to every single one of them who has with bravery and defiance stood up against outdated modes of thinking. Stigma and prejudice are still there for our LGBTI community. Sadly our bill did not change that. But it did ban the worst forms of abuse that these prejudices can manifest. There is no place for suppression or change practices in Victoria.