Decision details

Moved by Councillor Wilson, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 (Equality Bill) was passed by the NSW Parliament on Thursday, 17 October 2024;

(B)      Council congratulate Alex Greenwich MP, Member for Sydney, for his tireless work with the queer community to develop this piece of legislation, for bringing it into the NSW Parliament, and for getting it passed;

(C)      Council recognise that the Equality Bill advances the most LGBTIQA+ law reform in this state, more than any single piece of legislation before it, which includes:

(i)         allowing access to government identity documents that align with a person’s gender identity, including birth certificates (bringing NSW in line with the rest of the country);

(ii)        legislating “non binary” as a legal sex descriptor;

(iii)      better recognition of queer families, particularly for parents and children born through overseas commercial surrogacy; and

(iv)      extending legal protections for trans people, intersex people, people living with HIV or AIDS, and for sex workers;

(D)      Council congratulate the NSW Labor Government for supporting the legislation, and in particular the Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council and Minister for Energy and Environment for working with Rainbow Labor, Equality Australia and Alex Greenwich to get the Equality Bill supported by the NSW Government and through the NSW Legislative Council;

(E)      Council acknowledge that further reforms to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 called for by the LGBTIQA+ community are subject to a current review by the Law Reform Commission, due to be released in early 2025;

(F)      Council call on the NSW Labor Government to commit to protecting LGBTIQA+ Teachers and Students and Sex Workers in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 following the Law Reform Commission review of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977;

(G)      the Lord Mayor be requested to:

(i)         write to Alex Greenwich MP, congratulating him for all his hard work getting this legislation passed and noting Council’s commitment to support in any way possible a campaign for further changes to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, particularly for queer teachers and students at independent schools;

(ii)        write to the NSW Premier Chris Minns, thanking him for the NSW Labor Government’s support of the Equality Bill and noting Council’s commitment to see any recommended changes to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 passed by Parliament in 2025;

(iii)      write to the Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, thanking her for her hard work with Alex Greenwich MP to get the Equality Bill passed by the NSW Parliament and her unwavering support of Sydney’s queer community during her time as an elected official in inner Sydney; and

(iv)      write to Felicity Wilson MP, Liberal Member for North Shore, thanking her for her support of Sydney’s queer community and commitment to equality by crossing the floor against her party’s position and voting for the Equality Bill in the NSW Legislative Assembly; and

(H)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to continue to monitor ways the City of Sydney can support the LGBTIQA+ community.

Carried unanimously. 

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