Busselton Pride Alliance hits out at Mettam’s ‘untrue’ position on anti-vilifications laws

The Busselton Pride Alliance has rebutted comments by WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam about current protections from hate speech for the LGBTQIA+ community.

The call comes after Ms Mettam told the Times last week WA had “comprehensive” discrimination laws that protected the LGBTQIA+ community.

The comments were in response to questions over whether she’d support potential reforms to the Equal Opportunity Act flagged by the State Government before the 2021 State election.

“These protections (current laws) cover discrimination based on a person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender history or intersex status,” Ms Mettam said.

“They include provisions against hate speech, preventing and addressing any form of verbal or written abuse that incites hatred, contempt or ridicule towards individuals or communities based on these attributes.”

But BPA spokesperson Courtney Dunkerton said Ms Mettam was wrong on the hate speech front.

“There are no protections from hate speech for anyone else (other than on racial grounds), including religious groups, women, people with disability and LGBTIQA+,” she said.

“It is patently false for Ms Mettam to say otherwise.

“It seems she does not understand that these forms of discrimination and harmful speech were banned in other States years ago.”

Busselton Pride Alliance pointed to a 2022 review of the Equal Opportunity Act by the Law Reform Commission of WA.

The report said WA’s anti-vilification laws in the Equal Opportunity Act did not extend to the LGBTQIA+ community, with only the Racial Discrimination Act providing protection for “the most egregious examples” of vilification based on a person’s “race, colour or national or ethnic origin”.

According to the report, WA differs from some other jurisdictions such as the ACT where it is unlawful to vilify people on the grounds of disability, gender identity, HIV/AIDS status, race, religious conviction, sex characteristics or sexuality.

While there are anti-discrimination laws in WA which outlaw discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation and intersex status, these do not extend to vilification and exemptions apply to certain religious organisations.

The LRCWA made 163 recommendations around reform to the Equal Opportunity Act, with several involving anti-vilification provisions.

They included expanding the scope of anti-vilification measures to apply to vilification on the grounds of disability, gender identity, sex, sex characteristics, race, religious conviction and sexual orientation.

A spokesman for Ms Mettam declined to comment further.