Fridae

Twenty-eight parents of transgender and gender-diverse children have urged Tasmanian MPs to support a bill banning conversion practices, according to an ABC report published on 27 October.

The parents signed a letter backing the Greens proposal ahead of a debate that ABC reports is expected on 28 October. Don Pitcher told the broadcaster that parents were worried MPs might remove gender identity from the bill.

The introduced bill covers conduct directed at someone with the purpose of changing, suppressing or eradicating their sexual orientation or gender identity. The text excludes appropriate healthcare provided in good faith by registered practitioners in compliance with legal, professional and ethical requirements, as well as genuine exploration of identity. Parental discussions, expressions of belief and prayer do not, of themselves, amount to a conversion practice under the proposed definition.

Those distinctions matter to a debate in which opponents have argued the bill reaches too far. The parents’ appeal asks MPs to retain protection for their children as they consider its scope. The proposal remains a bill: its parliamentary record lists a first reading on 10 September, with passage and assent still unrecorded. The next step reported by ABC is debate in the House of Assembly, Tasmania’s lower house.