Tag: Candidate Statement

Candidate statement: Sarah Dekiere – Greens for Brighton

The following political statement has been supplied by Sarah Dekiere who is running as a candidate for Brighton District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

I believe that we should all feel safe and have equal opportunities in life, no matter our sexuality, gender identity or sex characteristics. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) people continue to face discrimination across multiple areas of their lives. We need to improve our laws so that no one faces discrimination or harm because of their sexuality, gender identity or sex characteristics. We need to properly fund LGBTIQA+ led organisations so that people can access quality services that truly meet their needs.

Despite some positive changes, there are still too many gaps in Victoria’s laws which allow discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people to continue. This Discrimination causes harm and its impacts can be deep and damaging.

Our Plan

The Greens plan includes:

An ‘Equality Bill’ for Victoria

  • The Greens will introduce comprehensive legislation that will:
  • Strengthen the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent all faith-based schools and organisations from discriminating against LGBTIQA+ students, staff and services users.
  • Give the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission stronger powers, including stronger investigatory powers and enforceable determinations
  • Expand anti-vilification laws to protect LGBTIQA+ people and support victims of hate crimes, including by making vilification and public harassment a crime and legislating to make violence motivated by hate a specific criminal offence
  • Ban deferrable medical interventions on children with intersex characteristics and restrict all sex characteristic altering medical treatment on intersex people without personal consent or oversite from an independent expert panel
  • Protect the important work of the LGBTIQ+ Communities Commissioner and the LGBTIQ+ Taskforce by enshrining them in legislation

We will also continue to work with the LGBTIQA+ community to identify further areas of reform, including adoption, assisted reproductive treatment and surrogacy, to make sure that our laws protect everyone.

A $200 Million ‘Rainbow State Fund’ for LGBTIQA+ community-led organisations:

This fund will support initiatives such as:

  • Funding for community controlled LGBTIQA+ services in key areas of need such as mental health, youth services, homelessness and sexual health
  • Establishing an accommodation facility, with associated support and health services, for trans, gender diverse and non-binary people
  • Establishing an LGBTIQA+ Community Hub with family services, youth facilities, events, and co-located health services
  • Investing in additional clinical services for trans, gender diverse and non-binary Victorians
  • Ongoing funding for pride events and festivals around the state
  • Social, psychological and peer support for intersex people and their families
  • Support services for survivors of conversion practices

Candidate statement: Dr Hsiang-Han Hsieh – Greens for Oakleigh

The following political statement has been supplied by Dr Hsiang-Han Hsieh who is running as a candidate for Oakleigh District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

My name is Hsiang (pronouns he/him), and I am the Greens candidate for the Oakleigh district.

I am proud gay/queer person of color, working as a doctor in mental health, and living with my partner in Oakleigh.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) people continue to face discrimination across multiple areas of our lives. As a result, our community is disproportionately affected with poor health, mental health, and social wellbeing.

The Greens have always championed the rights of LGBTIQA+ people, even before any other party did. The Greens plan includes:

  • An “Equality Bill” for Victoria, which strengthens the Equal Opportunity Act, strengthens the powers of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, expands anti-vilification laws, and more.
  • A $200 million “Rainbow State Fund” for LGBTIQA+ community-led organisations, which will support initiatives and services such as housing, healthcare, and celebratory events.
  • Continuing work with the LGBTIQA+ community to identify further areas of reform, including adoption, assisted reproductive treatment and surrogacy, to make sure that our laws protect everyone. 

Our laws should protect all LGBTIQA+ people from discrimation and harm, across all areas of our lives. We should all feel safe and have equal opportunities in life, no matter our sexuality, gender identity or sex characteristics.

Please refer to our policy announcement here: Greater protections for LGBTIQA+ communities under Greens plan | Australian Greens Victoria

And here’s the Greens’ wider policy regarding LGBTQIA+ issues: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Policy | Australian Greens Victoria

Candidate statement: David Southwick  – Liberal for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by David Southwick who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

2 November 2022
Mr. Michael Barnett 
Co-Convenor 
Aleph Melbourne
Via email: michael@aleph.org.au

Dear Michael,

Leading into the state election this November, I wanted to reach out to you and affirm my support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Over the years, I’ve been pleased to join you and members of Aleph at Midsumma and show allyship with a community that gives so much to our state. Our diversity – whether it be diversity of sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, or gender identity – is our strength. Supporting all people, no matter where on the spectrums of sexuality and gender identity they may sit, is a fundamental part of what I believe in.

Recently, the Victorian Liberals supported the Andrews Government in passing laws to outlaw Gay Conversion Therapy. There is no place in Victoria for such barbaric practices and changing these laws ensured that.

The Liberals will protect religious freedoms to allow Jewish schools to employ people who are aligned with their values. These laws will not grant schools any power to terminate staff based on values and no existing staff would be impacted by the changes. Just as importantly, an individual’s sexuality, gender identity and ethnicity would also be equally protected from discrimination and unfair dismissal under these laws. Any proposed changes would only occur after extensive community consultation (including with Aleph) and would need to protect every single Victorian from discrimination.

I want to give you my iron-clad guarantee that any amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act will protect our LGBTQIA+ community from discrimination. As Liberals, our belief in equality is non-negotiable.

In 1981, it was a Hamer Liberal Government that decriminalised homosexual activity. In 2014, I was proud to be part of a Government that took the historic step to expunge these archaic convictions from the record. In 2017, as the Turnbull Government delivered gay marriage, I watched with pride as my former colleague Tim Wilson proposed to his now-husband Ryan on the floor of Parliament. A year later, a Federal Liberal Government put PrEP on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the very first time.

A future Victorian Liberal Government will deliver a dedicated professional legal support service for the LGBTQIA+ community, which will be based at the Pride Centre. We will also invest $1 million over 4 years into Joy 94.9, so they can continue to bring the community together.

I look forward to continuing working with Aleph to determine where funding, support and advocacy can be most impactful.

After the 26th of November, I hope to stand with you as part of a Victorian Liberal Government that supports, respects and protects every community and every Victorian. We will always defend equality.

Yours sincerely,

David Southwick 
Member for Caulfield
Deputy Victorian Liberal Leader

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Candidate statement: Rachel Iampolski  – Greens for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Rachel Iampolski who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

Rachel Iampolski
Greens Candidate for Caulfield  

Dear Michael and the Aleph Melbourne community,

I want to begin by thanking you, and the team at Aleph, for your ongoing and tireless efforts in fighting for the rights of the Jewish LGBTIQ+ community, and for taking the time to speak with me. As a progressive, queer, Jewish candidate running in the seat of Caulfield, I recognise that I am standing on the shoulders of giants in doing so, and I take this opportunity very seriously. 

Throughout our conversation, I was really struck by how you described the advocacy work that you have been involved with as ‘taking 20 years to make something look like it happened overnight’. If this doesn’t highlight the hard work and love that is required to gain traction on these issues, I don’t know what does. I find this sentiment strongly resonates, both as a Greens candidate, and a person involved in progressive politics, as so much of the change we have been fighting for is being gradually adopted now, and while this is extremely heartening to see, it is on the back of so much hard work and a long running grassroots movement of action. 

It is also a stern reminder that any attacks against this progress – such as the recent push from the coalition to amend the Equal Opportunity Act is not actually undoing a night’s worth of work, but decades, and as such we need to remain vigilant to any attempts to chip away at the hard-fought for change that we have won. 

This is why the Greens have developed, and continue to develop, a robust Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex policy. We will always be vocal in Parliament and in the public arena against political attacks on LGBTIQ+ safety and freedom. The Greens, more than any other political party, will always advocate for the rights of LGBTIQ+ people of Caulfield and beyond, championing diversity and calling out discrimination, bias, and bigotry. As the first party to support and actively campaign to remove discrimination in marriage, we are so proud of what a strong and united community campaign can do to make positive change. Our elected members of parliament and councils, party members, and candidates such as myself, are committed to stand at the forefront of efforts for equal rights, social acceptance, and human dignity for all. The Greens Party is proud of our strong and active LGBTIQ+ membership who have led the way in developing the detailed statement of policies outlined here: https://greens.org.au/vic/policies/sexual-orientation-gender-identity-and-intersex-policy

Yet we have more work to do. With more Greens in parliament, we will push for:

The introduction of comprehensive legislation, including an ‘Equality Bill’ for Victoria with a focus on:

  • Strengthening the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent all faith-based schools and organisations from discriminating against LGBTIQA+ students, staff and services users.
  • Giving the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission stronger powers, including stronger investigatory powers and enforceable determinations
  • Expanding anti-vilification laws to protect LGBTIQA+ people and support victims of hate crimes, including by making vilification and public harassment a crime and legislating to make violence motivated by hate a specific criminal offence
  • Banning deferrable medical interventions on children with intersex characteristics and restrict all sex characteristic altering medical treatment on intersex people without personal consent or oversite from an independent expert panel
  • Protecting the important work of the LGBTIQ+ Communities Commissioner and the LGBTIQ+ Taskforce by enshrining them in legislation 

We are also pledging $200 Million for a ‘Rainbow State Fund’ for LGBTIQA+ community-led organisations, to further fund and support initiatives such as:

  • Community controlled LGBTIQA+ services in key areas of need such as mental health, youth services, homelessness and sexual health
  • Establishing an accommodation facility, with associated support and health services, for trans, gender diverse and non-binary people 
  • Establishing an LGBTIQA+ Community Hub with family services, youth facilities, events, and co-located health services 
  • Investing in additional clinical services for trans, gender diverse and non-binary Victorians
  • Ongoing funding for pride events and festivals around the state
  • Social, psychological and peer support for intersex people and their families
  • Support services for survivors of conversion practices

We are committed to continuing to work closely with the LGBTIQ+ community to ensure that our policies and advocacy work continues to stay relevant and best serve the community.

We hope that part of that ongoing engagement work can be with Aleph Melbourne, and I in particular, if elected, look forward to the opportunity to work more closely with the local queer community and the broader Jewish queer community.  

We applaud the work of Aleph Melbourne, who has for more than 20 years been advocating for and protecting the human rights of Jewish LGBTQI+. I look forward to walking with the Jewish Pride Group at Midsumma. 

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Iampolski

GREENS CANDIDATE FOR CAULFIELD 

rachel.iampolski@vic.greens.org.au
Instagram
Facebook
Website

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Candidate statement: Alicia Walker  – Animal Justice Party for Brighton

The following political statement has been supplied by  Alicia Walker who is running as a candidate for Brighton District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

1 November 2022

Kindness, equality, rationality and non-violence are the core values of the Animal Justice Party.

Our party values and my personal values align very well with the values of equality and dignity at Aleph.

Our current MP, Andy Meddick has been working tirelessly in parliament to create more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces in Victoria particularly for the youth community in areas like Geelong and Ballarat.

I assert that more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces are required throughout Victoria including in the District of Brighton.

I strongly support LGBTQIA+ organisations in our community.

I am a proud parent of a child who has several close friends who identify as belonging to the LGBTQI+ community. We as a family are passionate about advocating for a kinder world for all.

I will support and prioritise the LGBTQIA+ youth voice if elected.

As a party, the Animal Justice asserts that:

  • Gender and sexuality equality is a fundamental human right and that the health, safety and wellbeing of women, girls and gender-diverse people is paramount.
  • Reforms are essential to address the causes of gender and sexuality inequality and to protect people against gender and sexuality based violence.
  • Women and gender-diverse people must be supported, encouraged and empowered to be present and/or prominent in all areas of society, including politics.
  • Everyone must be supported in informed decision-making with respect to gender and sexual identity;
  • There must be zero tolerance of sexism, homophobia, queerphobia, transphobia, misogyny and all types of violence (including gender and sexuality based violence) and we must work toward gender and sexuality equality and respect in all areas of society.
  • Gender-inclusive language should be used.

Candidate statement: Asher Myerson  – Animal Justice Party for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Asher Myerson who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

1 November 2022

Kindness, equality, rationality and non-violence are the core values of the Animal Justice Party.

Our party values and my personal values align very well with the values of equality and dignity at Aleph.

Our current MP, Andy Meddick has been working tirelessly in parliament to create more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces in Victoria particularly for the youth community in areas like Geelong and Ballarat.

I assert that more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces are required throughout Victoria including in the District of Caulfield.

I strongly support LGBTQIA+ organisations in our community.

I am a high school teacher and am proud that I attend a student run lunch club, Q+A (Queers and Allies) to listen to what LGBTQIA+ youth and their needs.

I will support and prioritise the LGBTQIA+ youth voice if elected.

As a party, the Animal Justice asserts that:

  • Gender and sexuality equality is a fundamental human right and that the health, safety and wellbeing of women, girls and gender-diverse people is paramount.
  • Reforms are essential to address the causes of gender and sexuality inequality and to protect people against gender and sexuality based violence.
  • Women and gender-diverse people must be supported, encouraged and empowered to be present and/or prominent in all areas of society, including politics.
  • Everyone must be supported in informed decision-making with respect to gender and sexual identity;
  • There must be zero tolerance of sexism, homophobia, queerphobia, transphobia, misogyny and all types of violence (including gender and sexuality based violence) and we must work toward gender and sexuality equality and respect in all areas of society.
  • Gender-inclusive language should be used.

Candidate statement: Lior Harel – Labor for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Lior Harel who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

26 October 2022

Michael Barnett
Co-Convenor
Aleph Melbourne

Dear Michael,

It was a pleasure catching up with you some weeks ago to better understand the work of Aleph Melbourne as a social, support and advocacy group for LGBTIQ+ persons who identify as Jewish or who have a Jewish heritage.

As we discussed, I remember first meeting you when you came to speak to a group of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students at a Winter Conference in 1999. Your longstanding advocacy for the LGBTQI+ community is to be commended.

I am extremely proud that the current Andrews Government was the first government in the world to formally apologise to people convicted under historical laws against homosexual sex. Since its election in 2014, this Government has introduced a raft of reforms to better the lives of the LGBTIQ+ community. Some of these reforms have included:

  • Expunging old criminal convictions for homosexual activity
  • Establishing a Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ communities
  • Allowing couples to adopt regardless of their sex or gender identity
  • Banning practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity

I am especially proud of the release, earlier this year, of a landmark 10-year plan to drive inclusion for LGBTIQ+ communities, which was coupled with a $6.5m investment to make organisations safer and more inclusive for LGBTIQ+ Victorians, support the health and wellbeing of people with an intersex variation and continue peer support for trans and gender diverse Victorians. It is important that LGBTIQ+ Victorians have access to specialist and mainstream services that meets their needs, including healthcare services and mental health services.

The Victorian Pride Centre, opened in July last year, is exemplary of the current Andrews Government’s commitment to celebrate and honour all parts of the diverse Victorian community.

Whilst I do not wish to comment in any detail on the position of our political opponents on these matters, I note for the record my great disappointment at the Victorian Opposition’s recent policy pledge to wind back protections from discrimination in religious schools. I see this as an alarming step backwards for all Victorians.

As we discussed, I would be interested in hearing more about where the LGBTIQ+ community believes further funding and advocacy is needed, particularly in the healthcare space. It is my hope that if elected I can be part of an Andrews Government that leads the way in LGBTIQ+ equality, and the celebration of LGBTIQ+ culture and community.

I look forward to catching up again soon!

Kind Regards,

Lior Harel
ALP Candidate for Caulfield

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Statement: Dr Monique Ryan – Independent for Kooyong

Statement from Independent for Kooyong Dr Monique Ryan for Aleph Melbourne in support of the LGBTIQ+ community.

“Protecting the rights of vulnerable minorities, including the LGBTIQ+ community“

Policy Priorities

The protection of the rights of vulnerable people, including those in the LGBTIQ+ community, is a major priority for Monique. She abhors the way the Religious Discrimination Bill has been weaponised – causing harm and distress to LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities including people with disability – and she would oppose any attempts to compromise the protections that are currently afforded by the Sex Discrimination Act and by state Anti-Discrimination Acts. 

Monique condemns the way that trans people have been exposed to ongoing harmful and cruel political posturing throughout this election campaign, and she is aware of the devastation that this hostility inflicts on individuals and communities. She opposes the Save Women’s Sports Bill – and supports the continuation of s42 of the Sex Discrimination Act – as both currently stand. She is concerned that this Bill would further marginalise a vulnerable group of people – especially trans and gender diverse children – who already experience a high degree of social exclusion and isolation. Trans people must be at the centre of discussions involving any legislation that directly impacts them. 

If Monique is elected she will work with LGBTIQ+ communities to move equality forward. That means removing anti-LGBTIQ+ exemptions from discrimination law, supporting better mental health services and school inclusion programs, ensuring equity in Medicare for trans and gender diverse people, and putting an end to conversion practices and unnecessary, non-consenting medical interventions on children with variations of sex characteristics.

Monique stands for a community that is inclusive, generous and welcoming.

Further information on Dr Monique Ryan’s policies is available here.

Dr Monique Ryan – Independent for Kooyong – a proud LGBTIQ+ ally