Tasmania's premier and deputy potentially at odds over conversion ban

Tasmania's Deputy Premier Guy Barnett is opposing a Greens bill to ban conversion practices in the state. The draft bill, set to be debated in the state parliament soon, has been criticized by Barnett for being too ambiguous. He argues that the bill could potentially criminalize conversations between families or prayers. This stance puts Barnett at odds with Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who supports banning conversion practices.

Barnett has called the Greens' push to ban conversion practices "fundamentally flawed" and claims the bill risks criminalizing certain conversations between parents and their children, as well as within families. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute found that conversion practices have caused severe harm in Tasmania and recommended the state outlaw them, similar to most other Australian states.

The Greens released their own draft bill in June this year, stating that it would make a profound difference. However, Barnett has labeled the draft bill as "amongst the most extreme of its type in Australia" and argued that it risks criminalizing conversations and prayers in religious settings. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff asserts that Barnett's comments suggest he does not accept the evidence that conversion practices are happening.

The Greens' bill defines conversion practices as conduct aimed at changing, suppressing, or eradicating a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Equality Tasmania's Rodney Croome criticized Barnett for questioning the problem with conversion practices, stating that the bill aims to prohibit treatments that don't work for a condition that doesn't exist and are undertaken by unqualified people, causing deep harm and sometimes death to vulnerable LGBTIQA+ people.