Last week I travelled to Nobby’s Beach at Newcastle to hear the community’s concerns about the first of what could be many proposals by Advent Energy to undertake exploratory gas drilling offshore.

The NSW Government has made no secret about the fact it wants to open up many untapped reserves to oil and gas exploration in NSW. This includes offshore. A worrying move given NSW has so far been spared any offshore oil and gas drilling projects and has therefore been spared the risks associated with it.

The environmental and social risks of this drilling have not been fully explained to the public. In fact, the NSW Minister for Primary Industries has so far refused to release the ‘environmental plan’ associated with this first drilling operation. Seismic drilling impacts on migratory species such as humpback whales, something the tourism industry should be made aware of. The Port Stephens whale watching industry is surely too important to the local and NSW economy to risk.

Not to mention the risks posed to the whales themselves. Continue Reading

I draw to the attention of the House the disturbing issue of homophobic bullying in schools. Most teenagers will not be surprised to hear that best estimates suggest that close to half of gay and lesbian young people experience verbal abuse or bullying because of their sexuality or gender identity. However, I am concerned that many other people in the community do not understand the scale of what is going on in our schools and communities, nor the immense pain that even verbal bullying can cause.

Schools can be very unsafe for people who are, or who are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Feeling safe at school is extremely important for the healthy academic, social and physical development of young people. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people experience discrimination at many levels throughout their lives. But being confronted with homophobia in school, at probably the most vulnerable period in their lives, can have lasting impacts.

Young people who experience bullying are more likely to miss school, are less likely to stay in full-time education, and are less likely to feel safe, achieve, be healthy and make a positive contribution to their community. Research commissioned by beyondblue suggests that approximately 30 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people suffer anxiety or depression—twice the rate for the rest of the community. Even more frightening is that the suicide rate for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people is three or four times higher than for their heterosexual peers.

The discrimination faced by people during their youth plays a significant role in their ongoing mental health later in life. We have a responsibility to ensure that, regardless of a person’s sexuality or gender identity, our young people are provided with a safe and accepting environment in which to learn and grow. Unfortunately, there is a lack of support for teachers, parents, students and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex young people to deal with homophobia and its effects.

In talking with members of the community I found that their experiences at school appear to be frighteningly similar. This makes me wonder whether the available statistics underestimate the level of verbal and physical abuse that is going on. One young man who contacted me a couple of days ago, after hearing about my interest in this issue, told me of the bullying that he had experienced at school even though he did not disclose his sexuality to anyone. He wrote:

I felt that if I came out at high school then it would have been just as bad as putting a target on my face and telling everyone to have their best shot. I felt that if I came out I would receive more bullying than before, where I would divert the attention from other people being bullied and they’d join in, in order to receive some form of immunity from the main bullies. That form of stress was just not something I needed, especially in year 11 and 12 where my academic life was more important.

He went on:

I also had no one to talk to about it. No friends, no family, no one. I felt so alone and just wanted to scream and cry but couldn’t. I just wanted someone to talk to about it and didn’t know where to go or look for someone, so I didn’t look anywhere and hid in the closet even more.

I believe that homophobia in schools—and the relentless, cruel bullying that can result—can no longer be ignored, as it is all too often. We have a responsibility to closely examine this issue, to hear young people’s stories and experiences, and to design effective, long-lasting responses as a matter of urgency. Addressing prejudice when it rears its ugly head is an enormously complex task. Blame cannot be attributed to one factor, such as the education system or the lack of government programs, nor the students who are doing the bullying. To address this we need to look at many underlying factors, including cultural norms shaped by religion and ideology. I know is very good work is being done already by some community groups on providing support to young people who are experiencing homophobic bullying. Most of them operate off the smell of an oily rag and we need to ensure that their work is supported.

Taking up the sexuality and gender identity portfolio on behalf of the Greens in New South Wales, I am committed to ensuring that this issue receives the attention it deserves by bringing the voices of students, as well as those within the community working on this issue, into the New South Wales Parliament in the months and years to come. Silence condones ongoing violence and continued bad behaviour. Turning a blind eye encourages the homophobia that is causing many young people a great deal of suffering and hardship to continue. Just as this Parliament has shed light on domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse in the past, it is time this Parliament shed light on the extent of homophobic bullying in our schools. This needs to happen before another generation of some of our finest young people lose their confidence in society to keep them safe and give them promise of a bright future.

Today I gave notice of a bill to legalise voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill in New South Wales.

The Greens’ bill will provide the option for people who are terminally ill to end their life in a dignified manner, free from unnecessary pain, humiliation and suffering. Even the best palliative care cannot alleviate some of the worst suffering for around 3-5% of patients suffering a terminal illness.

With public support for voluntary euthanasia at over 85% according to a recent Newspoll, it’s time politicians in Macquarie Street caught up with the general public and joined Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and others in legislating for voluntary euthanasia.

In our civilised society, a medically assisted death should be one of the choices available to terminally ill adults of sound mind, whose pain cannot be alleviated, who want to die with dignity.

The bill will be based on Ian Cohen’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2001 which was defeated. The bill will contain extremely stringent conditions and safeguards.

Now that the Premier has allowed a conscience vote on the Bill I am hoping that the Parliament can have a mature, considered debate on this critically important issue.

Thank you to all my friends, supporters, family and Greens members who turned up to watch my inaugural speech. It was lovely to see the gallery so full of friendly faces. And it was great to catch up with you all afterwards over a drink. Now back to work!

If you missed it, you can read my inaugural speech right here: Continue Reading

If you’re a lesbian or gay teenager at school, it may not surprise you to learn that close to half of GLBTI young people experience verbal abuse or bullying because of their sexuality or gender identity.

I’m worried the rest of the community still doesn’t understand the scale of what’s going on in our schools and community, nor the immense pain even verbal bullying can cause.

Young people who experience bullying are more likely to miss school, less likely to stay in full time education, and are less likely to feel safe, achieve, be healthy and make a positive contribution to their community.

GLBTI people experience discrimination at many levels throughout their lives. Being confronted with homophobia in schools, at probably the most vulnerable period in their lives, can have lasting impacts on young people.

When I learnt that around 30 per cent of GLBTI people suffer anxiety or depression – twice that of the rest of the community – I knew the discrimination that people faced during their youth must play a significant role. Even more frightening is that the suicide rate for queer people is 3 or 4 times that for the rest of the community. Something has to be done.

Taking up the sexuality and gender identity portfolio on behalf of the Greens in NSW, I am committed to ensuring this issue receives the attention it deserves. There is potential here for a full parliamentary inquiry – I’ll be talking to various stakeholder groups and the community over the coming months. And if you have ideas let me know.

Update: Thanks James for alerting me to a graph on his blog comparing the rate of suicide among young lesbians and gay men in Australia to their heterosexual peers. This is a travesty and must be addressed at all levels of government.