This page is now a purely historical
document of a successfully completed and hard fought 16 year campaign for equal
age of consent reform in the state of Queensland, Australia.
On 15th September 2016 the Queensland
Parliament voted 72 to2 in favour of making the age of consent equal at 16 (for
any gender or sexual activity). The term “sodomy” was also removed from the
1899 (and still current, but much amended) Criminal Code.
The focus of the strategy which the
Palaszczuk Labor Government chose in proposing this
reform was the need to maximise the physical and mental health of youth.
I am retaining this page and all the linked
items (correspondence, testimonies, legal references etc)
so that any member of the public can see that the reform of the 1990 higher age
of consent for “sodomy” (anal intercourse) was always absolutely necessary. I
believe it also valuable to record that strong, determined efforts were
consistently made by the LGBTI community, and its allies, to remove the
discriminatory sodomy law in the interest of the health and welfare of youth,
so they could ALL expect to receive equal benefit and equal protection of the
law, without discrimination.
For details of the equal age of consent law which
was passed on 15th September 2016 please go my page:
www.queerradio.org/AgeOfConsent.htm
where you will find a link to the Health Bill in which it was enacted, the
Hansard record of the 3 hour debate (with wonderful, empowering speeches from
Palaszczuk Labor MP’s), the Media Release from the
Health Minister and the audio statements which I recorded with the Honourable
Health Minister Cameron Dick and with Queensland AIDS Council Executive Director
Michael Scott).
With my deepest appreciation for all who
spoke out or wrote in support of this reform. After 16 years I had no great
confidence this would ever happen – but out of a deep sense of duty of care for
youth I would never have given up.
With my very best regards,
-
johnvframe@yahoo.com ph: 07 3350 1562
A community resource of accurate information,
opinion and references regarding the discriminatory “Sodomy Law” which is
Section 208 of the Queensland Criminal Code. This law places Australia among
the worst nations in the world for the criminalisation
of homosexual activity.
Most recently updated, and all details true and correct, as at
8th September 2016. This public resource was established in 2001 by former community radio 4ZZZfm Brisbane “Queer
Radio” program presenter & coordinator John Frame (see his full contact details) and is stored on his personal website www.queerradio.org . John continues to manage and edit all of this content,
and to maintain the resource for community benefit, especially in support of
those many youth who need to know that there are people of conscience who care
strongly for their right to be treated with true equity under the law.
**
BREAKING NEWS:
Health Bill
to equalise the age of consent at 16 in Queensland
(by
removing the “Sodomy Law” – Section 208 of the 1899 Criminal Code)
likely to pass on 13th September 2016
On
13th September the Queensland Labor Palaszczuk Government will introduce for its
Second Reading (and expected passing) the Health and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill - which will amend the Criminal Code to enact a truly equal age
of consent at 16, and also remove the term "sodomy" from the Code.
See item #6 under "Government Business - Orders For
The Day" for 13 Sept '16 via http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableoffice/notice_paper/2016/160913_NP.pdf
Today
the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee tabled their Report #38 in
which they deal with the above reforms on pages 5 to 8 (as per http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/committees/LACSC/2016/21-HealthOLAB16/21-rpt0381Sept2016.pdf
) and make the affirmative recommendation:
"Committee comment
The
proposed amendments to standardise the age of consent
will bring Queensland into line with all other Australian jurisdictions. The
current position is discriminatory in practice. The committee also believes the
change will remove potential barriers to young gay men seeking health advice,
and will remove a stigmatising effect. There is some
anecdotal evidence that the current law is not enforced.17 The
committee supports standardising the age of consent.
The committee also supports the proposed amendments to remove references to
‘sodomy’ in the Criminal Code."
I
will be in the Public Gallery on the 13th – and considering that this is the 5th
item of the General Business which is scheduled to start at 2:30pm, break for
dinner at 6, then resume at 7:30pm, I will plan for a late night. While hoping
that this Bill passes swiftly with few debating against these particular
sections, I am hoping that several Labor MP’s will take the opportunity to make
honest and empowering statements for the Hansard record about the intrinsic
value of equality under the law for all youth, regardless of their gender or sexuality.
In
love and solidarity with the hundreds of people who have supported action for
this reform campaign over the last 16 years – and in praise of the Palaszczuk
Labor Government who have proven their commitment to their party’s principles
and to the health and welfare of our state’s youth.
Sincerely,
07
3350 1562 / 0407 057 139
** Queensland
Government calls for Submissions by 4pm Friday 22nd July 2016 to support
equal age of consent at 16:
The Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 was introduced by the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, the Hon. Cameron Dick MP on the 16 June 2016 and has been referred to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee for detailed consideration.
The committee is required
to report by 6 September 2016.
The Health
and Other Legislation Amendment Bill proposes to amend “the Criminal Code to standardise
the age of consent for sexual intercourse to 16 years and replace references to
sodomy with anal
intercourse”.
The Government considers this to be in the
best interest of the health and welfare of youth. The current discriminatory
“Sodomy Law”, Section 208 of the 1899 Criminal Code, sets a 2 year higher
minimum age of 18 for anal intercourse – which impedes the delivery of safe sex
information to youth and also impedes the ability for youth to honestly discuss
their sexual activity when consulting their GP and other health service
providers.
The Committee is calling for
submissions from the public – to be delivered by email or post by 4pm Friday 22nd July 2016:
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/LACSC/inquiries/current-inquiries/21-HealthOLAB16
From
there they link to a Guide
to making a submission – saying it can be short or long, printed or by
email but should be to the point and provide facts to back up your opinion.
In
my page which you are now reading I have included a list of the main Reasons, and More
Reasons with factual information and documentation which you may find
useful and which you can cite in your submission.
On 25th May 2016:
From the Hansard record
of Queensland Parliamentary Proceedings on 25th May 2016 Health
Minister Cameron Dick delivered a commitment to enact equal age of consent
reform “by the end of 2016” as a necessary strategy in protecting the sexual
health of youth:-
As per: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2016/2016_05_25_DAILY.pdf
“Sexual Health Initiative Hon. CR DICK
(Woodridge—ALP) (Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services) (2.26
pm):
One
of the fundamental tenets of our society is equality before the law.
Queenslanders should not face adverse health outcomes because of laws based on
prejudice. In Queensland, there has been a disparity between the ages of
consent for sexual activity for many years. On 16 May this year I convened an
expert panel to consider standardising these ages.
The panel found that the inconsistent approach to the age of consent is a
barrier to young people accessing sexual health services and health
information.
As
health minister, I find it unacceptable that some Queenslanders are banned from
discussing safe, consensual sexual activity with health professionals—it is
archaic and it is dangerous. By the end of 2016, the Palaszczuk Labor
government will legislate to amend the Criminal Code, standardising
the age of consent for all lawful sexual activity in Queensland. Making this
change addresses a longstanding case of legislative discrimination against gay
men. “
The
impending announcement by the Health Minister was reported one the morning of
25th May 2016 in the Brisbane Times by Amy Remeikis:
Queensland to catch
up on age of consent laws for anal sex
May 25 2016 - 6:38AM
·
Amy Remeikis
After
decades of inaction, the Palaszczuk Labor Government will introduce legislation
to standardise the age of consent, bringing an end to
one of the State's most discriminatory laws.
Under current
legislation, the age of consent for vaginal sex is 16, but anal sex, which is
still referred to as sodomy under the Criminal Code, remains illegal until a
person is 18.
Queensland
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's government will bring
in legislation to standardise the age of consent.
It has
meant that teenagers, particularly young gay men, have had issues accessing
safe sexual practice information, with practitioners forced to inform those seeking
information on anal sex, about the illegality of the act.
Queensland
is the only jurisdiction where the ages of consent are different and Health
Minister Cameron Dick said following advice from an expert panel, it was the
only course of action the government could take.
"By
making this change, we are addressing the disparity between the age of consent
for penetrative sex, which has resulted in adverse consequences for young
people in this state," he said.
"It
is clear that inconsistent age of consent laws act as a barrier to young people
accessing safe sexual health information. It is time that Queensland modernised its framework."
Along with
that modernisation comes a groundbreaking step, with
the government releasing its draft Sexual Health Strategy, a first for
Australia, which aims to provide better information regarding sexual health and
contraceptive options, as well as having better medical services, with improved
training for sexual health workers, Mr Dick said
the strategy would "support and improve" the sexual health of
Queenslanders and built on the work already being done in the sphere, as well
as provide education on sexuality itself and improve service access.
The last
time the State ventured into its citizen's bedrooms to change laws regarding
consensual sexual conduct was in 1990, when the Goss Government passed
legislation overturning homosexuality as an offence.
But the
age of consent disparity remained, with a growing number of LGBTIQ advocates,
health workers and educators lobbying successive governments to standardise the law, pointing to it as a continued
discrimination against the State's gay community, and proving potentially
dangerous for young people seeking information.
Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath announced the government intended on examining the
issue during last year's Estimates hearings. Almost a year later, Mr Dick's legislation, expected to be introduced into
parliament on Wednesday, will work to right a wrong almost three decades in the
making.
On
20th August 2015 news broke that the Palaszczuk Labor Government
were funding an expert committee to report to Parliament regarding equal age of
consent reform:
“Qld could make age of consent 16 for all
·
AUGUST 20, 2015 1:52PM
QUEENSLAND'S government is considering making 16 years the legal
age of consent for all sex acts, including anal sex.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Yvette D'Ath says an
expert panel has been appointed to consider whether consent age for anal sex
should be lowered from 18.
Queensland
is the only state in Australia where the legal ages of consent for anal and
vaginal sex are different.
"The
government is aware of the claims of the LGBTI community in relation to this discrepancy,
in particular their claims it is discriminatory," she told a budget
estimates hearing on Wednesday.
"At
the same time, the government recognises there are
strong conflicting views held by Queenslanders about this issue."
Shadow
attorney-general Ian Walker said the issue was not regularly raised with him in
his suburban Brisbane electorate.
He also
admitted that the Liberal National Party had not considered it until Ms D'Ath mentioned it on
Thursday.
"It's
the first time it has become a matter of public debate, as far as I'm
aware," Mr Walker said.
He added that the LNP would wait until the review was completed and
consider any proposal the government made.”
My comment regarding the LNP Shadow Attorney-General’s quotes in the 20th
August 2015 article above:
It is good that in the 20th
August 2015 “breaking news” the current LNP Shadow Attorney-General is not
outright declaring his party’s opposition to equal age of consent reform,
however all of the LNP’s previous Opposition Leaders and Shadow
Attorneys-General of the last 15 years – including Lawrence Springborg
- have certainly been made well aware of the need for this reform. The evidence
is here in my Correspondence Summary
with my advice to Jeff Seeney on 2nd July
2007: http://www.queerradio.org/AOC020707.htm
and in particular before that to Springborg on 27th
January 2006: http://www.queerradio.org/AOC270106_letter_to_Leader_of_Opposition.htm
. In both cases I point out that the LNP is incorrect when they attempt to
claim that the 1990 PCJC Report had recommended a higher age of consent for
anal intercourse. Neither Opposition Leader bothered to respond – so I am
concerned that they may still try to peddle that misinformation. Also it is odd
that Mr Walker assumes that this is the “first time
it has become a matter of public debate” – merely because he does not have his
electorate constituents regularly raising the issue with him.
On ten occasions (5 January 2004 ,
24 August 2004 , 2
June 2005 , 19 January 2006 , 12
June 2006 , 19
January 2008 , 20 June 2008 , 1 July 2009 , 23 September
2009 and on 10
May 2010 ) I made certain that I emailed or posted relevant material to
every individual Member of Queensland Parliament so that they could never deny
that they had been made fully aware of the issues surrounding the need for
equal age of consent reform. In June 2007 I also posted to each Queensland MP a
copy of the DVD and CD packaged which I funded, recorded and edited – which
included six statements of support for equal age of consent reform made by a
range of community representatives: http://www.queerradio.org/AOC_June_2007_DVD_CD-ROM_pack.htm
This page
and the associated links constitute a detailed resource regarding the need for
Equity in Age Of Consent and Legal Sexual Activity for the State of Queensland,
Australia. This campaign commenced in March 2000, calling for removal
of our state's 1990 “Sodomy Law” which defines anal sex (often presumed to
define “homosexual sex”) as being a criminal activity for any person aged under
18, as well as for their sexual partner. The Courts do accept “Consent” as a
defense. The Sodomy Law section of the Criminal Code provides absolutely no
added protection for youth, and in fact it acts solely to reinforce homophobic
oppression of same sex attracted male youth by tainting them as being likely
criminals, while also obstructing the delivery of vital safe sex education. All
evidence is that youth engage in sexual activity regardless of the law, and
that male youths engage in sex more frequently, and at a younger age, than
females do. The aim of seeking a truly equal age of
consent at 16 is to enable equal legal protection, societal support and
community acceptance of all youth - regardless of their gender or their sexual
orientation. Since 2003 Queensland has been the only region in Australia
without as truly equal age of consent. The age of consent is truly equal at 16
in New South Wales, Victoria, West Australia, the Northern Territory and the
Australian Capital Territory – and at 17 in Tasmania and South Australia.
Please note that
throughout this document, and in any linked files, the "Queensland AIDS Council" and
“Queensland Association for Healthy Communities” are names for the exact same
group. The community funded group was established in 1984 as “The Queensland
AIDS Council” and still uses that name today. Between June 2006 and late 2013
they were known as the “Queensland Association for Healthy Communities”. The
Queensland AIDS Council website URL is www.quac.org.au
.
A Change.org
petition (click here for details) was opened 14 December 2011 and closed 28 January 2012. I decided to close
this petition early, even though there were only 254 signatures, because in the
previous week Premier Bligh had announced that the State election would be held
on 24 March 2012 and that the Government will go into “caretaker” mode from 19
February. It would have been possible for the Government to officially start
the reform process if they acted immediately. On 30 January 2012 I posted the
complete petition to both Premier Bligh and Attorney-General Paul Lucas. The 12
page document includes a 3
page covering letter, which
includes all of the reasons for signing which people had posted to the petition
site. There was no response from the Premier or Attorney-General.
Click the following bookmarks to go
to related details within this page:
- The
Proposal for equal age of consent
reform
- Main
reasons for enacting a truly
equal age of consent
- More reasons for enacting a truly equal age of consent
- Evidence in support of an equal age of
consent
- Media
coverage (newspapers, online
articles and radio)
- The Sodomy Law worsened rather than deleted in October 2008
- A Brief Overview of the
- Queensland
Anti-Discrimination Commissioner supports reform
- DVD/CD-ROM information pack sent to all Members of Parliament in June 2007
- Premier Anna Bligh evades honest
discussion on the Madonna King show
ABC612 Oct/Nov 2007
- Parliamentary “E-Petition” July 2005 signed by 740
- Definition and
Prosecution of the
- Former Premier Peter Beattie’s
full awareness that the Sodomy Law should never have been enacted
- Video interview with John Frame and text statement of his interest in this
cause
- Hon. Michael D. Kirby AC CMG statement 3rd
February 2010
- Peter
Tatchell statement 8th October 2010
|
|
A statement of support for equal age of consent reform in Queensland by Paul Martin, Principal Psychologist,
Centre for Human Potential, Brisbane READ Paul’s complete 18th November
2011 statement as a pdf file Excerpt: “I am a psychologist with over 25 years experience
specializing in mental health in LGBTI populations. I run a practice which
sees many young same sex attracted people and am actively involved in PFLAG where
I spend much time with parents of same sex attracted young people. I have
worked with parents who have lost their child to suicide as a result of their
conflicts around being same sex attracted and young people who were close to
dying as a result of suicide attempts. These are extremely vulnerable
segments of Australia’s young population.
Clinical and research evidence strongly suggests that the Queensland
Sodomy Law which sets a higher minimum age of 18 for anal intercourse not
only exposes many of them (any person who engages in anal intercourse) and
any of their sexual partners to criminal prosecution, but also causes
psychological harm and increases risks of negative outcomes including
suicide.” Paul’s
conclusion is that: “Whilst the Premier’s ‘It Gets Better’ video would have had a positive
impact on the mental health of some same sex attracted youth, the impact may
be largely negated by her refusal to change discrimination in the Sodomy Law.
This law quite clearly causes psychological harm and it is imperative that
our Premier acts urgently to change this for the sake of the most vulnerable
youth in Queensland.” |
|
Hear Paul Martin interviewed by Doug Pollard on JOYfm, Melbourne’s “Rainbow Report” 2nd Dec
2011 (13 minute, 320kps
stereo, 30mb mp3 of the original podcast used by kind permission) (aired
11:30am Brisbane Time, Friday 2nd December 2011).
|
READ the article: “Last
chance to repeal Queensland’s “toxic” Sodomy Law” (pdf file)
“With a looming change of
Government to the traditionally homophobic LNP, it is more dangerous than ever
to leave such a toxic law in force.”
By John Frame, 4th
November 2011
Quotes from Wendell Rosevear are from John’s
interview with him, recorded 18th October 2011 at Avid Reader.
On 18th October 2011 Dr Wendell
Rosevear OAM made the following video statement in strong support of equal
age of consent reform in Queensland. Watch the unedited video below,
Or VIEW an html file with
this video embedded, and also the text of the complete transcript:
Video recorded at the Avid Reader Bookshop (Brisbane, Australia) 18th Oct
2011 launch of "Speak Now
- Australian perspectives on same-sex marriage" (Clouds Of Magellan, 2011). Wendell is one of the contributors to
that publication. He is distinguished as one of Australia's most eminent
medical professionals who works in Alcohol and Drug recovery, HIV/AIDS, Rape
and Sexual Abuse Recovery, and General Practice. Wendell has specialised experience in support for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender persons, and also in prisoner health and counseling.
In 1996 Wendell was named Brisbane Citizen Of The Year and received the AMA
National Award for "Best Individual Contribution To Health Care In
Australia". In 1998 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in
recognition of his great work. Wendell believes firmly in the healing power of
love. He owns and operates the Stonewall Medical Centre in Newmarket.
Queensland’s age
of consent is 16, however “sodomy” (a penis entering an anus, or the attempt to
do so) involving any person aged under 18, is a criminal offence under the
"sodomy law" (Section 208 of the Criminal Code 1899) and
is punishable with up to 14 years imprisonment. Queensland is the only state or
territory in Australia which does not have a truly equal age of consent (equal at 16 in West Australia, New South
Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, and
at 17 in Tasmania and South Australia.)
So why hasn’t
equal age of consent reform been enacted yet? The
main problem was that the Queensland Labor Government’s administration – i.e.
their Premiers Beattie and Bligh and their last six Attorneys-General, from Matt
Foley to Paul Lucas, all apparently cared more about the risk of losing a few
votes than they cared about the health and well being
of our state’s youth. Support for
equality in laws related to age of consent had been written into Queensland
Labor’s Policy Platform for many years – so there’s no legitimate excuse for
their inaction. Strong resolutions of support for equal age of consent
reform had been confirmed in 2010 and 2011 among many branches of the
Queensland Labor Party, however the matter was not made an agenda item at their
party’s 2011 State Conference.
Another
big problem is the dire lack of organised community
activism to push for reform. In every other state and territory LGBT groups and
community legal services gave due priority to the issue of equal age of consent
reform and they fought determinedly to make it happen. LGBT representative
groups in Queensland tended to place this issue well down on their list of
priorities and it has rarely even been mentioned in their media opportunities or
press releases. The Northern Territory’s 2003 case for reform was actioned by
the Darwin Community Legal Service, however our Caxton Street Legal Service
have advised that they have neither the staff nor the finances to take any
action. In June 2010 the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties officially declared
its support for reform (emailed pdf letter)
and that’s a very important fact to note.
The
third problem is that mainstream media, except for local radio ABC612 and
national youth network TripleJ, continue to treat
this as a “non-issue”. The editor of Queensland’s sole statewide tabloid, The
Courier Mail, has flatly refused to publish a feature - even when a very fine
article was submitted by one of the paper’s own senior staff.
|
Photo by
Mark Tedeschi QC |
3rd
February 2010 statement by Hon. Michael
D. Kirby AC CMG: Read: “Unequal Laws
Affecting Homosexual Citizens In Queensland” (pdf file, 40k) ·
Excerpt: “It is time that this last relic of criminal
legal discrimination was removed in Queensland. It is a hangover from
earlier, ignorant and prejudiced days. It exposes homosexual youth in
Queensland to grave differential criminal penalties; potential harassment;
and impedes effective strategies to respond in Queensland to the risks of HIV
and AIDS in young people. All of the reasons given for the noteworthy
decision of the Indian judges apply here. What India and the rest of
Australia have already done, Queenslanders should now do by parliamentary
action. It is a basic matter of equality of citizenship.” Michael Kirby
retired in February 2009 as a Justice of the High Court of Australia, where
he served for 13 years. He is perhaps Australia’s most well-known and
respected openly gay man and he has been a lifelong active advocate for true
equity for all. Visit Michael’s
own site at:
http://www.michaelkirby.com.au/
On
8th July 2010 John Frame was in the audience for the "In Conversation with Michael Kirby"
event at State Library of Queensland and in Question Time asked Michael to
comment on equal age of consent reform. The event was recorded and broadcast
15th July 2010 by Radio National. Hear that question and answer as a 2m 26s
excerpt (2mb mp3). In 2011 Michael Kirby wrote an article
titled “THE
SODOMY OFFENCE: ENGLAND’S LEAST LOVELY CRIMINAL LAW EXPORT?” for the inaugural issue of the “ASSOCIATION OF COMMONWEALTH CRIMINAL LAWYERS - JOURNAL OF COMMONWEALTH CRIMINAL LAW”. His abstract for that article is: ·
“This
article describes the influence of the British Empire on the intercontinental
spread of the criminal offences involving adult, private, consensual same-sex
activity. It describes the origins of the crimes in Judeo-Christian
scriptures and early English common law and statutory offences. The
nineteenth century moves for criminal law codification in Europe succeeded in
abolishing such offence. They were not a feature of other European empires.
However, although codification of criminal law failed in England, five
template codes exported the sodomy and other offences to every land ruled by
Britain. In 41 of the 53 Commonwealth countries, the offences remain in
force. The article describes how they were (often reluctantly) repealed by
legislation between 1967-97 in the older dominions. Repeal in newer
Commonwealth countries has been slow or non-existent. The author describes
new developments that give hope for progress, including the Naz Foundation Case in India (2009) and the recent moves
in the United Nations and elsewhere to foster legislative and judicial
removal of this unlovely legacy of Empire.”
|
|
|
8th October 2010 statement of support by Peter Tatchell - Australian-born, UK-based human
rights and LGBT rights campaigner: "In a democratic society,
everyone should be equal before the law. There is no moral or medical
justification for having a higher age of consent for anal intercourse. Even
though some heterosexuals have anal sex, this unequal age of consent is, in
essence, a de facto discrimination against gay and bisexual men. The best way
to protect against HIV is education about safer sex, not arbitrary and
discriminatory laws that predominantly penalise the
gay and bisexual communities." - Peter Tatchell |
||
That
Queensland's Criminal Code be amended to be in line with every other Australian
State and Territory through the enactment of a truly equal age of consent
to sexual activity, in order to enable equity in the protection and
support of all youth regardless of their gender or their sexual
orientation.
Reasons for Equal Age Of Consent Reform in
·
Since 2003 Queensland has
been the only Australian State or Territory which does not have a
truly equal age of consent.
The current law sets a minimum age of 16 for vaginal intercourse, but
also sets an unjustified higher age of 18 for "sodomy" - which is
defined by the Courts as carnal knowledge through anal intercourse. There is no
supportable reason for anal intercourse to be listed as a separate offence to
carnal knowledge.
·
The
current law stands in spite of the October 1990 "Report on
Reforms In Laws Related To Homosexuality" by the all-party Parliamentary Criminal
Justice Committee , as Chaired by Peter Beattie, in which majority
Recommendation 7 was that "THE AGE OF CONSENT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ACTS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SEXUAL EQUALITY AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BE
THE SAME FOR MALES AS IT IS FOR FEMALES, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE SEXUAL ACT
IS HETEROSEXUAL OR HOMOSEXUAL.” The higher minimum age for anal intercourse exists only
because of a “behind closed doors” decision by the Goss Labor Cabinet, as a
token of consolation to its own handful of ultra conservative MPs. It was
introduced in the November 1990 Bill which otherwise “decriminalised”
sex between men. Hansard shows that not one word was spoken about this section
in the passing of that Bill.
·
Queensland Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Susan Booth has declared that the discriminatory unequal
age of consent is in clear contravention of Article 26 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “In 1994 in the case of Toonen V
Australia, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Riqhts
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The older age
limit for lawful sodomy in section 208 of the Criminal Code therefore constitutes
a discriminatory provision which breaches Article 26 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Other States and Territories have,
since the decision in Toonen, repealed similar
discriminatory and homophobic laws.”
·
A
truly equal age of consent was recommended in the 2010 Australian Law Reform
Commission Report “Family Violence - A National Legal Response (ALRC Report
114)” See the “Commissions’ Views” from 24.47 to 24.50 on pages 1141 and
1142 - of which 24.49 is: “The Commissions suggest
that the age of consent for sexual offences should be set at 16 years of age.
This is consistent with legislation in many jurisdictions and the approach
taken by MCCOC, which considered the issue at length and received numerous
submissions from a range of stakeholders.100 The Commissions’ recommendation,
however, is that the age of consent for sexual activity should be made uniform
both within and across jurisdictions, and that no distinction be made based on
gender, sexuality or any other factor.”
·
The current law acts to impede the most
effective delivery of vital safe sex education to youth regarding anal
intercourse - an
activity which, without education for proper protection, may be high risk
for HIV infection. On
25th May 2005 Melbourne’s La Trobe University (Dr Lynne Hillier et al)
published an important report "Writing Themselves In
Again", a national survey of 1,749 “same sex attracted youth”. The
researchers found that the clear majority of same sex attracted youth are aware
of their sexual attraction by age 16 (if not by 13); that they are sexually
active at an earlier age than their heterosexual peers; that 70% had engaged in
penetrative sexual intercourse and that only 75% of 15-18 year olds had used
condoms in their last encounter. They also found that same sex attracted youth
were 5 times as likely to suffer a sexually transmitted infection as would the
average high school student – proving their higher risk of exposure to HIV and
the drastic need to maximise effective safe sex
education.
·
The current law acts to reinforce
homophobic oppression, bullying and abuse of same sex attracted youth, denying them deserved peer support and
acceptance. All youth deserve the same level of legal protection and community
support to have the best chance of living healthy, loving and productive lives
as adult citizens.
·
Equal age of consent reform is supported
by various eminent community organisations including Brisbane Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays, the Queensland AIDS
Council and the federally funded Open
Doors Youth Service which specialises in the
support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. See the Mid-October 2005 letter to
the Beattie Government which was instigated by PFLAG, QuAC
and Open Doors and was signed by 20 organisations and
groups.
·
Queensland Labor’s official Policy Platform (Section 7.9 of the Justice and
Governance Chapter) has, since at least
2008, been: "7.9 Labor will ensure uniformity of
age among laws relating to the age of consent for lawful sexual activity;"
·
As from 1st July 2009, Federal law amendments will
define that “couples are couples” regardless of their gender in all areas
except marriage. Federal agencies will tell young same sex male couples that
they are equal with other couples, while Queensland law continues to define
them as criminals.
REFERENCES:
The
1990 PCJC Report on Reforms in laws Related to Homosexuality is at:
http://www.queerradio.org/PCJC_law_reform_report_October_1990.pdf
The quote from the Qld
Anti-Discrimination Commissioner is from her 15th July 2005 letter to
Attorney-General Rod Welford:
http://www.queerradio.org/AOC150705_ADCQ.htm
The
Australian Law Reform Commission Report “Family Violence - A National Legal
Response (ALRC Report 114)” (2010) is at:
https://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/ALRC114_WholeReport.pdf
The
La Trobe University 2005 Research Report "Writing Themselves In Again: The
2nd national report on the sexual health & well-being of same sex attracted
young people in Australia" pdf file is at:
and
that file is found via the list at:
More reasons for urgently
enacting a truly equal age of consent in
- Paul
Martin, Manager of the Queensland AIDS Council (then known as Queensland Association for Healthy
Communities) issued a 3rd
February 2005 press release declaring that "The current law causes
confusion amongst many in the community who believe that all sex between
men is illegal before the age of 18" said Paul R Martin of the
Queensland AIDS Council. "We are concerned that young people who are
sexually active are reluctant to come forward to access sexual health
services and receive sex & relationships education for fear of being
prosecuted". Mr Martin went on to say
"There is no legitimate reason why the age at which young men and
women can have vaginal sex, which may result in child birth, should be any
different from the age at which people can legally have anal sex. The
current law does nothing to protect young people, on the contrary it criminalises young people who choose to have anal
sex".
October
2008: Qld's "Sodomy Law" was made
worse, rather than
being deleted, by Attorney General Kerry Shine in October 2008
An October 2008
amendment to the Criminal Code Sections 208 and 209 had actually worsened the
effect of the "sodomy law". Section 209 - attempting to
engage in sodomy - was deleted and the wording was incorporated into
Section 208, which meant that the penalty for attempting sodomy had been
doubled from a maximum of 7 to 14 years.
Attorney-General
Kerry Shine actually reviewed the Sodomy Law element of the Criminal Code and
yet decided to make it worse, when he was personally well aware that the
Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had recommended 3 years earlier
that it be deleted altogether and she had reminded him, in person, just a
year earlier that she was definitely serious about the need for that reform.
The Criminal
Code and Other Acts Amendment Act 2008 Act No. 55 of 2008 (assented to
23rd October 2008):
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2008/08AC055.pdf
The current
version of the Qld Criminal Code is at:
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/CriminCode.pdf
Queensland's new Premier, Anna Bligh, declares “no plans to consider” Equal Age Of
Consent Reform (ABC612 local radio 26th Oct ’07 and again 30th
November '07)
On 26th October 2007
Premier Anna Bligh spent just seven seconds on ABC612’s “Madonna King”
program dismissing a 19 year old gay Brisbane man Peter Ridgley’s question on when Equal Age of Consent Reform would
happen. I knew that Peter would be calling, so I listened with some hope that
our new Premier might have a more compassionate attitude: Hear
the audio (30secs, 350k mp3)
Peter of Taringa was told by the show’s producer
that he had to keep his question to the Premier succinct, so he asked:
“I was wondering when the Queensland Government was going to change
the age of consent laws between differing sexual activities from 18 for anal
intercourse to 16 to be in line with vaginal intercourse?
Premier Anna Bligh’s response was:
“Peter, our
Government has no plans to consider that issue. So I guess that the answer to
your question is that there is no time frame because we have no plans in
relation to that.”
When I heard this I
immediately phoned the ABC in the hope of asking Premier Bligh for exact
reasons why her Government is not considering this reform, but I was told that
they do not allow callers to ask questions on matters which had “already been
dealt with”. I
then sent an email to Premier Bligh expressing my disappointment at
her display of indifference, and also posing the two questions that she needs
to answer in detail. Her 5th December 2007 reply was authored by her Deputy Chief of
Staff and continued the "no plans for reform" mantra, without even
mentioning the two questions for which I had specifically requested answers.
On 30th November 2007 (click for more details plus link
to mp3) I tried
phoning in an HIV-related equal age of consent question for Premier Bligh
during the Madonna King show – but sadly received a response which was no more
satisfactory than Peter's. I believe
that Premier Anna Bligh is either feigning or proving her ignorance of the real
matters that are at stake with this reform, and that as the mother of a young
teenage son it is vital for her to recognise that the
current law presents a real potential risk to the health and welfare of her
very own family.
DVD-Video and
CD-ROM package “6 Statements of Support for Equal Age
Of Consent Reform in Queensland” posted to all MP’s June 2007:
Click the individual photos
below to choose either YouTube
video or transcripts of each of these statements of
strong support for equal age of consent reform in
Since early 2000, when I started to actively pursue this reform,
the Premier and various Attorneys-General have all either refused or failed to
meet with a representative group in order to discuss the matter. So I decided
to bring the people to Parliament via the medium of DVD-Video (with transcripts and audio on an accompanying CD-ROM).
I produced the project between February and May 2007 and during
June the DVD-Video and CD-ROM package entitled “6 Statements of
Support for Equal Age Of Consent Reform in Queensland” was sent to each individual Queensland Member
of Parliament. The DVD-Video offers six statements from highly reputable and
relevant persons who all support urgent equal age of consent reform, and whose
combined statements form a compelling argument.
The CD-ROM contains audio versions of the statements, transcripts
and also selected relevant documents (including Queensland Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Susan Booth’s 15th July
2005 letter to Attorney-General Rod Welford).
Premier Peter Beattie’s written response was that he is continuing
to leave the decision on this matter with the Attorney-General (despite Mr. Beattie’s personal 1990
statement that he supported an equal age of consent).
The Attorney-General’s 22nd June 2007 response merely re-affirmed the
Beattie Government’s ongoing refusal to make any commitment to this reform (while offering no justification for this
decision).
The June 2007 edition of
(click the image for full text plus link to a full
size jpg of the article)
Evidence In Support of an Equal Age Of Consent:
There are also
valuable references in a January 1991 report from the Australian Institute of Criminology on Homosexual Law Reform in
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti29.pdf.
Report 29 was authored by Melissa Bull, Susan
Pinto and Paul Wilson (Professor Paul
Wilson is currently Director of the Centre for Applied Psychology and
Criminology at Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland) The authors quote
professionals who wrote in 1990 to Queensland Premier Wayne Goss stating that
it is imperative that age of consent should be gender neutral, and that there
be no distinction made in the legality of any consenting sexual activity. The following is a complete excerpt from
page 9:
“Age of Consent
There should
be no difference in the 'Age of Consent' for males and females in relation to
heterosexual or homosexual acts. The Queensland Psychologists for Social Justice indicated in
their submission to the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee (Gallois, North & Raphael 1990) that research and
clinical experience support the proposition that young males start sexual
activity earlier and are more likely to have more sexual partners than girls at
any given age through the teenage years.
Thus to legislate differently on the 'Age of
Consent' for homosexual acts ignores the realities of sexual expression and
sexual identity formation. In a letter to the Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Wayne Goss, several
...that any distinction made in age of consent for homosexual
activity and the age of consent for heterosexual activities would be
discriminatory and prejudicial...The dangers exist in that any differentiation,
in age of consent....further reinforces negative social constructions and
public opinion. Such legislative differentiation will ensure that young
homosexuals in
The recommendations regarding 'Age of
Consent' finally proposed by the Queensland Parliamentary Criminal Justice
Committee concur with these views.”
June 2006 In a two page briefing paper for members of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
(AFAO), the group gives a clear statement of how age of consent laws apply
across Australia, and an equally clear condemnation of Queensland's unequal age
of consent: http://www.afao.org.au/library_docs/policy/Age_of_consent_briefing_paperJune06.pdf
This
detailed paper entitled “AGE OF CONSENT FOR SEXUAL ACTIVITY - Findings from the
scientific literature to support equality of age of consent for same-sex and
different-sex sexual behaviours” was prepared in May
2001 for the Committee on Gay and
Lesbian Law Reform (W.A.) by Dr Vivienne Cass, Ph.D., M.Psych.,
B.Psych., Teach.Cert. www.queerradio.org/Age_of_Consent_for_sexual_activity.pdf (27k file)
Source: From the website of West Australia’s Gay And Lesbian Equality ( GALE) www.galewa.asn.au/.
In
March 2002 the age of consent in
For anyone who
might be completely unfamiliar with the story behind the call for reform of
In my home
state of
Even though the
law applies to "any person" (both men and women) it is clear that the
intent of the 1990 law was to discourage young men from doing male to male sex.
It was passed in the same Bill which otherwise "decriminalised"
sex between men. The lawmakers deliberately used the term "decriminalised" in the legislation to make it very
clear that the administration was not inferring any approval of homosexual
activity just because they happened to be changing the law. The Goss Labor
government of the time had the clear numbers to force any law through, but the
Sodomy Law was included in order to placate its own gay-hating conservative
Members. All debate in Parliament was about whether homosexual law reform
should happen at all. In fact the Sodomy Law has never been debated in
Parliament, nor has it ever been officially explained to the public.
I got involved
in seeking sodomy law reform when, on 19th February 2000, our only state-wide
newspaper (The Courier Mail) published a full page article headed ">Reasonable Age - Will
lowering the age of consent for homosexual sex open the floodgates to paedophilia?" The article's author clearly thought
the answer was "YES!". She dangerously misrepresented the truth of
the law by suggesting that ALL male to male sex was illegal under 18 years. I
phoned and wrote to the paper and they refused to print a correction or
retraction. When I spoke with other people about this I was shocked to find
that about 80% (whether straight or gay) did not understand the law.
Since 2000 I've
had a constant stream of correspondence and phone calls with our state government's
Premier and several Attorneys-General, I've organised
rallies and meetings, written articles and done radio interviews. 740 citizens
joined a Parliamentary E-petition and our Anti-Discrimination Commissioner even
wrote stating that the law should be reformed. All this has been to no avail.
The Premier simply refuses to budge on reform - even though former Premier
Peter Beattie actually Chaired the 1990 all-party Parliamentary Committee which
Reported on homosexual law reform. In that Report Mr
Beattie declared his personal support for the majority Recommendation to enact
an equal age of consent.
The Premier and
the Attorney-General persist in offering, without qualification, the following
inadequate statement to justify their ongoing inaction on reform: “The issue of the age of consent is a
vexed one and one in which there are deeply held and opposing views.”
Both the
Premier and the Attorney-General have refused to meet with a representative
community group to discuss the need for an equal age of consent – and they
continue to ignore the 15th July 2005
official recommendation for reform by the Queensland Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner.
Queensland
Government Parliamentary E-Petition (Number
421-05) for Criminal Code Law
Reform went online on 1st February 2005, sponsored by Simon Finn, MP
for Yeerongpilly, with the wording:
TO: The
Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative
Assembly of Queensland
|
Queensland
citizens draws to the attention of the House the current Queensland Criminal
Code discriminates against 16 |
The E-petition
was open only to citizens of
On 22nd
March 2006 an Official Ministerial Response was posted by Queensland Attorney General Linda Lavarch. The Attorney
General’s entirely unsatisfactory response acknowledges the negative aspects of the
current law, but she advises that the Government will not enact reform because “The issue of the age of consent is a vexed one and one in which
there are deeply held and opposing views.” It
seems clear from this statement that the Beattie Government cared more about
the risk of losing votes than it cared about the health and well-being of
youth.
N.B:
In
preceding weeks the Courier Mail had reported that Peter Beattie was actively
negotiating with the conservative religious Family First Party to secure
preference deals for the upcoming state election (hoping to split the
conservative vote). Successive polls had shown the Nationals to be almost
certain to win at the 2006 election (NB: Labor retained power – at least until the 2012 election). Nationals
Leader Lawrence Springborg has clearly stated that
they will not support an equal age of consent.
On 15th
July 2005 Queensland's Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Susan Booth wrote to the Attorney-General to confirm an opinion which she had
previously expressed face-to-face with Mr Welford: that Queensland’s Sodomy Law “discriminates on the basis of sexuality.
These provisions of the Criminal Code are inconsistent with the object of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 to
promote equality for everyone and protect them from unfair discrimination, and
the premise upon which the legislation was enacted, namely, that everyone should be equal before and under the law and
have the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without
discrimination.”
The Commissioner concludes by stating that “It is now imperative that
(click here to read the full
text of the Commissioner’s letter, including links to jpg scanned images)
Definition and Prosecution of the
Queensland’s age of consent is 16,
but anal intercourse (“sodomy”) involving any person aged under 18 is a
criminal offence under the "sodomy law" (Section 208 of the Criminal Code 1899) - punishable
with up to 14 years imprisonment.
Definition of “sodomy”: "Under
How is the Sodomy Law prosecuted in
Guidelines
for the judiciary are contained in the QUEENSLAND SUPREME AND DISTRICT COURTS BENCHBOOK on pages 148, 149 and
150. It is important to note
that
Mr Beattie was Chairman of the Parliamentary Criminal Justice
Committee (PCJC) which conducted community consultation and delivered a
detailed Report to Parliament in October 1990. In the PCJC
Report he clearly declares his personal support for
the Committee’s first 8 recommendations, of which “RECOMMENDATION 7” is “THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
THAT THE AGE OF CONSENT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ACTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES
OF SEXUAL EQUALITY AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BE THE SAME FOR MALES AS IT IS FOR
FEMALES, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE SEXUAL ACT IS HETEROSEXUAL OR HOMOSEXUAL.”
There is no official record of the reason
why, but this recommendation was ignored in the Bill
which was introduced to Parliament in
November 1990 - a Bill which included a higher age for anal intercourse - a
Sodomy Law.
Premier Beattie also knew that the Sodomy Law directly placed 16 and
17 year olds at increased risk of HIV by impeding safe sex information. His PCJC
Report states on page 49:
"The Committee was of the
view that the professional advice put before it concludes the following:-
1. Sexual orientation is most
likely determined early and while the age is not determinable it is most likely
before puberty.
2. Once sexual orientation is
determined it is very difficult if not impossible to change.
3. The law regardless of whether
it makes homosexual sex between consenting males in private legal or not has
little impact or no impact on the practice of homosexuality in private. Its
impact is in relation to whether safe sex is practiced and whether the
community is susceptible to particular AIDS education programs.
4. The evidence seems to suggest
that homosexual orientation is not a matter over which homosexuals have any
control in the same way heterosexuals have no control over their sexual
orientation."
The
Queensland Government continues to advise that it does not have any plans to
change the existing legislation.
27th Jan 2010 Queensland Pride, February
2010, edition #QP269, cover story feature article:
“STATE OF
(click
to go to an html file of the online version)
Queensland Pride 
http://queenslandpride.gaynewsnetwork.com.au/ is one of Queensland’s two highly respected and long
established lesbian and gay community newspapers.
4th December 2009 QNews,
edition #235, p9, feature article:
“GAY SEX IN
Click
here for the QNews online copy of the article
(click to go to a
full size 700k jpg of the print version)
QNews 
www.qnews.com.au
is one of
10th Sept 2009 ABC
Unleashed online article :
“THE AGE OF CONSENT” by John Frame
Click here for the
ABC’s online copy of the article
(click to go to a pdf file of the article, including the 109
comments)
27th
Feb 2009 A
recent Queensland Pride Magazine
online article inspired ABC Toowong journalist Kaitlyn Sawrey
to record an interview at my home for use as a discussion topic on Triple-J's "The
Hack" program. That same night they ran the topic as the show's
"Shake Up" panel discussion - here's a link to an mp3 of that segment
11
minutes 38 seconds (64kps mono mp3,
5mb) I'm extremely glad that Tommy Murphy (stageplay
writer/director and screenwriter of Tim Conigrave's
"Holding The Man") was on the panel. Tommy makes very good sense - making
up for the regressive comments by conservative christian
gay journo John Heard.
June
2007 edition of
(click the image for the full text plus link to a
full size jpg of the article)
30th
Nov 2006 Courier Mail
article by feature writer Jane Fynes-Clinton. In this concise yet accurately detailed
feature, especially written for World AIDS Day, Jane connects many of the more
important issues related to Queensland’s unequal age of consent – including
that the current law places youth at increased risk of HIV infection. She personalises the story with bookended references to Keith
Phillips, an openly gay year 10 student at Alexandra Hills State High in
20th
June 2005 9:20am, ABC 612 Local Radio: Steve Austin interviewed John Frame
for 8 minutes (64kps mono mp3, 3mb)
regarding the need for Sodomy Law Reform - including mention of the
Parliamentary E-petition and the fact that the Northern Territory Labor
Government had been returned in the preceding weekend's election with a greatly
increased majority (and they had reformed their Sodomy Law in the most recent
term of office). The ABC received no calls at all in regard to the interview -
a sign that the thinking public is very comfortable with the need for reform.
10th March 2005 “ON LINE opinion” forum article by Rose Cooper on
age of consent: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3094
. John Frame’s comments were posted under the tag EqualRightsActivist:
“Rose raises many good
points - regardless of any nit-picking in regard to her grammar. It is
especially important that she points out that there should be no difference in
the protection and support afforded to youth of any gender (male/female/intergender) at the age of consent. Anyone with an honest
and open mind and with even a smidgen of life experience must know that same
gender attraction is
The term "homosexual lifestyle" is as uselessly definitive as
"religious fanatic" - but one certainly makes a choice when embracing
extremes of fashion or displaying wanton bigotry.
The legal age of consent should be the benchmark for all youth to have access
to all information and support that they might reasonably need in order to
protect their sexual health as well as their emotional health. All youth should
have equal support and protection at the same age. In
Attorney General Rod Welford will tell you that the Sodomy Law is not
discriminatory, because it applies to all persons, whether they are male or
female – but the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner says that it is
equally wrong that the law discriminates against 16 and 17 year olds.
Unfortunately she cannot force reform of State laws and the Beattie Government
seems content to let youth remain at risk while they maintain a vote-winning
veneer of Bjelke-Petersen style conservatism.”
27th
Feb 2005 Brisbane’s monthly
LGBT street press Queensland Pride
publishes an article in their March edition reporting on the 14th February
“Love In For Love Equality”. For full article text
click here.
21st
Feb 2005 The Los Angeles
based, half-hour weekly, internationally distributed lesbian & gay radio
magazine This Way Out included news coverage
of the 14th February 2005 “Love In for Love Equality” and also included a 6
minute edit of representative voxpops recorded on
that day by John Frame. For full details of this This
Way Out program click here.
18th
Feb 2005 Brisbane’s
fortnightly LGBT street press Q News (issue #110, p3) published a substantial article and photo reporting on the 14th
February “Love In For Love Equality”.
16th
Feb 2005 The Queer
Radio program on 4ZZZ Brisbane airs over 30 minutes of voxpops recorded at the 14th February Love In For Love
Equality – we heard from representatives of the Queensland AIDS Council (Paul Martin, Brisbane Parents Family & Friends
of Lesbians And Gays, University of Queensland
Sexuality Collective, University of Southern Queensland queer student group
“USQ-Plus”,
Brisbane LGBT youth service “Open Doors”
and Toowoomba’s LGBT social group “The Silver Wheat Society”. HEAR
all nine “voxpop” recordings as 128kps stereo mp3’s.
14th
Feb 2005 – approx 5:45pm The ABC’s national youth radio network Triple-J's "The
Hack" program aired a 6 minute interview
(128kps stereo mp3, 6mb) on the
need for reform of the Queensland Sodomy Law. Steve Cannane, Sydney-based presenter of the “Hack” program, spoke
by phone earlier in the day with John Frame from the ABC’s
14th
Feb 2005 CLICK
HERE for PRESS RELEASE re success of Love
In For Love Equality (13th Feb ’05)
September
2003 A fine article
titled “Sodomy” by Rodney Polkinghorne was
printed in the September 2003 “Queer Edition” of Semper Floreat
– the monthly magazine published by the University of Queensland Student Union.
The article tells the accurate story of
29th
August 1997 a Courier Mail
feature article on the unequal age of consent in Queensland titled “Age
Barrier”. Writer Matthew Fynes-Clinton sought
comments from several people – but only one of them was sensible – i.e. Terry
O'Gorman of Qld Council for Civil Liberties, who
makes perfect logical sense in favour of a truly
equal age of consent at 16. However there are also very dodgy comments from LNP
Attorney-General Denver Beanland, as well as from a
right wing conservative paediatrician and from an RBH
adolescent psychiatrist. I'm disappointed to see the quotes from former (Goss
Labor) Attorney-General Dean Wells in which he defends the validity of the
Sodomy Law - even if those quotes happen to be from November 1990 – because his
"1995 Revised Criminal Code" would have set a truly equal age of
consent at 16. I say "would have" because this article was published
at the time when the Borbidge LNP held power - and
one of their first acts in 1996 was to repeal the 1995 Revised Criminal Code
just before it was to officially take effect. The article was prompted by the
New South Wales Wood Royal Commission recommending an equal age of consent at
16 in that state - but they did not enact it until December 2003. The October
1990 Queensland PCJC Report on Laws Relating To Homosexuality had also
recommended a truly equal age of consent at 16 - which was ignored by Goss
Labor. Hansard records of the November 1990 "decriminalisation"
Bill debate prove that there was not one word spoken in Parliament either for
or against the Bill's proposed higher minimum age for anal intercourse.
Queensland has already taken more than three times longer than New South Wales
to follow an official recommendation to allow youth equality at the same
reasonable age of 16. An image of the Courier Mail article in 150dpi resolution
is on my site as a 1mb jpg at:http://www.queerradio.org/CM_19970828_p13_Age_Barrier_MatthewFynesClinton150dpi.jpg and a version with proofed OCR
text as a 500k pdf file is at:http://www.queerradio.org/CM_19970828_p13_Age_Barrier_MatthewFynesClinton_OCR.pdf
Video Interview
with John Frame and statement of interest in this cause:
View
YouTube video of John Frame as a
guest speaker of the Queensland Association
for Healthy Communities at their 4th June 2008 Pride Campaign launch at
their
Why is John Frame personally interested in this issue? (19k html
text file)
Linked
to the buttons below are: Details of the current
From the
website of Queer Radio, the gay & lesbian Community Radio program on 4ZZZ fm102.1 in
Last updated 8th September 2016