Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia is a sporting nation. We love sport and we celebrate our sporting heroes. Sport is part of our national identity. Often events in sport can tell us something about who we are and the things that are important to Australians. For example, I think the pride with which Australia cheered on Cathy Freeman at the Olympic Games told us something very wonderful about where Australia was at that time.

But today I rise to speak on a matter of public interest which concerns two events over the weekend in the worlds of sport and the media. At the weekend I was moved—as were many Australians—by the frank interview by Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe, our greatest Olympian, in which he declared that he was gay. But on the same weekend I was angered and upset—as were many Australians—to hear that the football commentator Brian Taylor referred to an AFL player as a 'big poofter' on Channel Seven's live football broadcast on Saturday night.

Homophobia is never acceptable. There might be some people who think comments like Taylor's are all just a bit of a joke. It is often the case that people say something and then they say, 'Don't take it seriously, it's a joke'—and if you are upset or take offence you are regarded as being thin-skinned. I think people who think comments like that are a bit of a joke should look at the Ian Thorpe interview. It is no joke to be on the receiving end of a word like 'poofter' or many other words like it. It is no joke to be caught in the crossfire of prejudice, and it is no joke to live in fear of being rejected, vilified or persecuted because of who you are.

The fact is that we still hear homophobic insults and slurs bandied around as if they are acceptable, harmless, just a bit of a laugh. Well, it is no laugh to be a young person growing up and working out who they are, surrounded by an atmosphere of hostility. They can feel alone, isolated from their peers, isolated from their community and even isolated from their family. They feel as if people like them are so worthless that they can be abused, bullied, belittled and mocked—that that is perfectly acceptable.

A study released earlier this year by a team of researchers from the University of Western Sydney showed that homophobia directed at young gay people remains prevalent in our schools, our workplaces, on our streets and in other public venues, including sporting events. These researchers surveyed just over 1,000 young people who identified as gay or sexuality diverse. They found that almost two-thirds had experienced some form of overt homophobia or transphobia; 64 per cent had been verbally abused; 18 per cent had been physically abused; and 32 per cent had experienced other forms of prejudice and hatred.

Homophobia has serious consequences for its victims. The Growing up queer study found 41 per cent of the young people surveyed had thought about self-harm or suicide, 33 per cent had harmed themselves and 16 per cent had attempted suicide. These are really sad statistics and a reminder of the effect of prejudice that you can have these sorts of results with so many young people thinking about self-harm or suicide and so many attempting suicide because of how they feel.

Today a new survey on the incidence of homophobia in Australian sport has been released. It is called Out on the fields and it is a study which surveyed some 2,500 athletes and players, gay and straight, at all levels of sport. Half the gay sportsmen and women responding to the survey reported that they had experienced homophobic abuse. One in four of the straight men responding to the survey had also been targets of homophobia.

As the footballer Jason Ball says:

To all of the people who thought that Brian Taylor's comments weren't a big deal, this research shows that homophobic language has a profound impact on our sporting culture.

Slurs on the basis of someone's sexuality are not acceptable in any circumstance, let alone when broadcasting live into living rooms around the country. People whose words are being heard by millions have an important responsibility to think about the consequences of their actions. This is not the first time Mr Taylor has used homophobic language on air. I note that he has apologised for his latest remark. If he cannot exercise self-control and just blurts these things out in the heat of the moment, perhaps he is not qualified to be sitting in front of a live microphone.

Those who broadcast his thoughtless comments also have responsibilities. The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice provides that a television station must not broadcast program material likely to provoke or perpetuate intense dislike, serious contempt or severe ridicule against people on the grounds of sexual preference. So Channel Seven was right to insist that Mr Taylor withdraw his remark and apologise on air.

I am also very pleased to acknowledge the efforts of the AFL, which has been one of the most progressive sporting codes in Australia in combatting prejudice on and off the field, including prejudice on the grounds of sexuality and obviously, of course, also race. Indeed, earlier this year the organising bodies of all four of Australia's major football codes together with Cricket Australia made a commitment to introduce new policies to stamp out homophobia. But, unfortunately, it only takes one thoughtless remark to undermine these efforts. Are people in prominent positions in the media really that ignorant, really that cruel, really that careless—or so prejudiced? If they are, they simply do not deserve to occupy positions where they can hurt people by what they say.

I think Mr Taylor and others could learn something from a group of students I met at Unley High School in Adelaide in my home state of South Australia recently. They saw the impact that using gibes such as 'you're so gay' and 'that's so gay' as insults could have on people who are gay. So they formed a group at the school and launched an annual Think Before You Speak Week. They stood up and said to their peers homophobia is not on. I'd like to acknowledge two of the key students involved in Unley High School's Gay-Straight Alliance—Isaac Thiele-Swift and Ben Strempel—and the support from the co-ordinating teacher, Jo van der Zwaag, and Principal Susan Cameron. This is a real example of leadership. It is an example Brian Taylor should take on board.

Mr Taylor could also learn from the courage shown by Ian Thorpe over the weekend. Ian Thorpe spoke about the anxiety he had suffered because of anti-gay attitudes in the community. He said: "I wanted Australia to be proud of me. I didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay." It is terribly sad that Ian Thorpe was worried that Australians would not accept him as their sporting champion if he were gay, terribly sad that he worried that Australians would not celebrate his extraordinary achievements as our representative if he were gay.

It is as sad that every day in Australia people are made to feel confused, conflicted and even guilty over their identity. Thoughtless comments like Brian Taylor's only contribute to an environment where people are made to feel like this, but the courageous actions of people like Ian Thorpe and the students at Unley High School reassure me. They demonstrate that, for every unthinking, ignorant, cruel bigot in this country, there are hundreds of thoughtful, tolerant, decent and ethical people. For every loudmouth, there are hundreds of people quietly behaving with integrity and with dignity. And, for every homophobe, there are hundreds of people, gay and straight, with the courage to stand up for what is right.