by MIKE HITCH

The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL) has identified significant existing flaws with the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (the Act) after NSW One Nation leader, Mark Latham proposed changes to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

The Hon. Mark Latham MLC introduced the private members bill to the NSW Legislative Council in February this year in the hopes of amending the handling of complaints by the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board.

Known as the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Complaint Handling) Bill 2020 (the Bill), the amendments would seriously impact complaints made by LGBTQI community members in the future.

The impacts include stopping victims from accessing justice in more than one jurisdiction, preventing victims from accessing justice where the discrimination occurred over more than 12 months, and requires all complaints to include unnecessary complexities over thought processes.

In a submission to the Inquiry on the Anti-Discrimination Amendments, the GLRL affirmed that the Act already fails to protect LGBTQI people from discrimination without the new complaint handling amendments. As a result, the GLRL recommends that the NSW Anti-Discrimination board or the Law Reform Commission conduct a complete review, rather than instate individual amendments. Read more via Star Observer