“We are pleased the Strategy is the first in Australia to acknowledge the exclusion GLBTI people face, but frustrated there’s no pointers for how to tackle this exclusion.”
– Rodney Croome, TGLRG
Gay activists say the Tasmanian Social Inclusion Strategy sets a new Australian standard by acknowledging the exclusion faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people, but is still “short on solutions”.
Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said the Strategy, released today by Social Inclusion Commissioner, Professor David Adams, is the first in Australia to cite levels of discrimination and disadvantage faced by GLBTI people but fails to propose any solutions, despite highlighting ideas for tackling the exclusion of a wide range of other social groups.
“We are pleased the Strategy is the first in Australia to acknowledge the exclusion GLBTI people face, but frustrated there’s no pointers for how to tackle this exclusion”, Mr Croome said.
“Because the Strategy sets a high standard for the other states, it’s important for it focus on solutions rather than problems.”
“We will now approach the State Government with examples of programs in schools, workplaces and communities, that have worked in Tasmania and elsewhere, and which should be incorporated into our State Strategy.”
Professor Adams’s Strategy does not primarily focus on excluded population groups, but does list many examples of such groups in Tasmania, cite evidence for their exclusion and propose solutions specific to them.
The Social Inclusion Report and its appendices can be downloaded from
http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/siu/strategy
The social exclusion of GLBTI people is acknowledged in several places including, chapter 1, the case for social inclusion, strategy 3, diversity and skills training, and in appendix 1, evidence for social inclusion, under employment, health, diversity and discrimination.
Rodney Croome
