With a second Cabinet Minister failing to condemn gay conversion ‘therapy’, the Coalition must urgently clarify its stance and work with the states to ban this discredited and dangerous practice.
At the National Press Club today, Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack said he was undecided on conversion therapy and could ultimately support it:
“I have not really looked into it enough to really make a view on it one way or the other … when I make a decision, I’ll give you a call.”
McCormack’s comments follow Health Minister Greg Hunt’s bizarre refusal to condemn gay conversion therapy on ABC Radio this week, as well as attempts by Liberal members to restore the practice in Victoria.
These comments were ignorant and incredibly hurtful, with Australians such as Chris Csabs detailing the horrific impact of gay conversion therapy.
Hunt and McCormack’s comments also fly in the face of expert advice.
The Australian Medical Association “unequivocally condemns” gay conversion therapy, saying it is:
“harmful to both the individuals who are subjected to it, and society more broadly, as it perpetuates the erroneous belief that homosexuality is a disorder which requires a cure”.
This advice is backed by the World Medical Association, which says that conversion therapies:
“have no medical indication and represent a serious threat to the health and human rights of those so treated”.
McCormack and Hunt must now listen to the experts, apologise for their comments and work with the states to ban gay conversion therapy.