Response from

Casey Davies,

Animal Justice Party

Equality Tasmania LGBTIQA+ Community State Election Survey 2024
Introduction

Equality Tasmania has surveyed parties and candidates on issues of
concern to the LGBTIQA+ community during each state election since 1989.
We ask for your responses to the following questions to better inform
the LGBTIQA+ community and our families and allies about their voting
options.

The relatively large number of questions in this survey is because we
seek your views on services as well as law reform, and because of the
ongoing threats to landmark reforms already achieved.

We urge you to answer each question with:

Yes

No

Undecided, uncertain or need more information
You are welcome to add any additional information.

The deadline for responses is Monday March 4th 2024.
If you have any questions please contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668

PERMISSION

To ensure we meet our obligations under the Electoral Act we ask for
your permission to publish your responses to our questions. Please write
your name below to give us permission to publish. If you are not an
independent, please indicate your party or grouping.

Name: Casey Davies

Party of grouping: Animal Justice Party

1. LEGISLATION NEEDED IN THE NEXT TERM OF GOVERNMENT

a. Conversion practices

Questions
Do you want to see an end to conversion practices in Tasmania?
Yes
Will you enact or vote for a prohibition on conversion practices based
on the recommendations of the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute?
Yes
Do you believe this should be high priority?

Yes

b. Intersex surgeries

Questions
Will you enact or vote for a prohibition on medically-unnecessary
interventions on children with innate variations of sex characteristics
based on the recommendations of the TLRI?
Yes
Do you believe this should be high priority?
Yes
Will you support the provision of redress for those who have undergone
damaging, medically-unnecessary and non-consensual medical
interventions?
Yes

c. Hate crime

Questions
Will you enact or vote for reform of the Sentencing Act that allows for
aggravated sentencing when a crime is motivated by hatred on the basis
of a range of attributes including sexual orientation, gender identity
and variations of sex characteristics.
Yes – as someone who is gender non-conforming myself, I see this as an important issue for my community
Will you support more resources to enable police to be trained to
identify, collect data on, and prosecute crime motivated by hate?
Unknown – personally uncertain on anything involving police collecting more data on people

d. Stalking law reform

Question
Will you support changes to section 192 of the Criminal Code to ensure
victims of those crimes can be sure police are empowered to gather
evidence and bring charges without having to seek prior consent of the
DPP?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this

e. Expungement of historical criminal records

Questions
Will you enact or vote for the review’s recommendations to be
implemented?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this
If you indicated support for the recommendations, does this include
in-principle support for financial redress for survivors, of an amount
to be determined by a parliamentary inquiry?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this

f. An LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Act

Questions
Do you support an LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Act similar to the proposed
Disability Inclusion Bill?
Uncertain (on if it is necessary)
If unsure, do you support an inquiry into the need for an LGBTIQA+
Inclusion Act?
Yes

g. A Human Rights Act

Question
Will you enact or vote for a Tasmanian Human Rights Act in line with the
recommendations of the TLRI?
Yes


2. PROTECTING EXISTING RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

a. The Anti-Discrimination Act

Questions
Will you vote against any attempt to remove existing protections for
students, staff and clients of faith-based schools and services?
Yes
Will you vote against any attempt to weaken or otherwise amend section
17 of the Anti-Discrimination Act, including any attempt to allow
intimidation and humiliation etc in the name of religion?

Yes

b. Gender recognition laws

Question
Will you vote against any attempt to weaken or otherwise amend
Tasmania’s gender identity recognition laws?
Yes

c. Respecting parental rights and opposing censorship

Questions
Will you respect parental choice and freedom, and oppose censorship, by
allowing schools and libraries to include age-appropriate LGBTIQA+ books
in their collections?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this
Will you respect parental choice and freedom, and oppose censorship, by
not speaking out against age-appropriate drag story time?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this


3. LGBTIQA+ HEALTH AND WELLBEING

a. Government LGBTIQA+ Framework and Action Plan

Question
Do you give in-principle support to the development and implementation
of an Action Plan and Framework with appropriate funding based on the
Telling Us the Story report?

Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this

b. Mental health

Question
Do you support a dedicated Tasmanian LGBTIQA+ mental health service?
Yes

c. Service delivery and policy-making

Question
Do you commit to maintaining funding that will enable statewide service
delivery by Working It Out?
Yes
Do you support a continuation of this funding?
Yes

d. Community fund

Questions
Do you support this fund?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this

e. Housing and substance abuse strategies

Question
Will you support LGBTIQA+ people being a priority group in Tasmania’s
housing and substance-harm strategies?
Yes

f. Trans and gender diverse health care

Question
Do you support increased funding for the Sexual Health Service to meet
demand and reduce wait times, as well as ongoing professional
development for healthcare providers working with the trans and gender
diverse community?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this
Will you oppose an inquiry into health care for young trans and gender
diverse people?
No – personal, no AJP position on this. I would think that an inquiry would find that affirming care is a benefit to young trans and gender diverse people which would be a good thing, unless I am misunderstanding what an inquiry would involve.

g. Clinic

Question
Do you support a dedicated, multidisciplinary, LGBTIQA+ healthcare
centre?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this
If not, do you support a needs analysis to determine if such a service
is required?

h. Legal Service

Question
Do you support a dedicated LGBTIQA+ legal service?
Unsure
If not, do you support a needs analysis to determine if such a service
is required?
Yes – personal, no AJP position on this

4. GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT AND THE LGBTIQA+ COMMUNITY

a. Professional development for government employees

Question
Do you support funding to ensure all school staff, health staff, police
and emergency services staff, prison staff and Service Tasmania staff
have professional development in the issues facing LGBTIQA+ Tasmanians?
Yes

b. Consultation and representation

Questions
Do you support the continuation of the existing government / LGBTIQA+
reference groups in the departments of education, health, police and
emergency services, justice and across the whole of government (some of
which have been in place for a quarter of a century)?
Yes
Do you support the appointment of an equality minister in the State
Government?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this – as long as the correct person was appointed
Do you support the appointment of an LGBTIQA+ Commissioner (see LGBTIQA+
Inclusion Act above)?
Yes – personal support, no AJP position on this
Do you support the establishment of a Parliamentary LGBTIQA+ Friendship
Group?
Uncertain
Do you support a Tasmanian LGBTIQA+ Staff Pride Network across the
public sector (there are already agency specific networks in Police and
Emergency Services, State Growth and Health?
Uncertain