Why is Gay Conversion Therapy still legal in some states?

Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory are banning gay conversion therapy but it remains legal in New South Wales. 

Last week, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet promised not to ban prayer or preaching as part of laws to be introduced in the next parliament to end gay conversion therapy. 

Listen to the full episode below:

On today’s Briefing, we speak to MP Alex Greenwich, an Independent member of parliament representing the seat of Sydney. Greenwich is also drafting the bills to outlaw gay conversion and suppression therapies in NSW. 

We deep dive into how conversion therapy can impact individuals and why legislation is so patchy across the country. 

So far, he has Liberal and Labor on board in principle, but there will be tension points around the protections for churches to preach and pray. 

We have to get the balance right to make sure that people aren’t using prayers as a guise of some form of counselling or conversion practice, and that is something the legislation will deal with,”

MP Greenwich said.

There are some grey areas here…we are focusing on civil response, of which the principal focus is mediation and education”.

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