*with Greens Amendments
After years of tireless campaigning, anti-vilification laws in Victoria have finally been expanded.
Throughout this time, the community has been clear:
We need to ensure that people from the LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities are protected from hate speech.
And our amendments have ensured other groups affected by hateful acts will be protected by these laws too.
Our amendments focused on ensuring this bill will work as it was originally intended.
To protect marginalised people in the community from targeted hate.
We made sure context and power dynamics would be taken into account.
Often called the ‘Sam Kerr’ amendment, this will make sure that people can’t be accused of things that don’t exist- like ‘reverse racism’.
Without the Greens at the table, this Bill would have become a collaboration between Labor and the Liberals.
These major parties have used the LGBTIQA+ community as a political football for years.
We can’t legislate our way out of transphobia, homophobia, queerphobia, ableism, sexism and racism.
But we can hold people accountable.
That’s what this legislation does.
This is a significant step forward for these communities and a much-needed reprieve from the far-right vitriol that has been dominating politics in recent times.
