Housing and women’s health pledges made by major parties for upcoming Tasmanian election while divided on conversion practices ban
The major parties hit on similar themes when announcing policies on housing and women's health for the Tasmanian State Election. But they were divided on the issue of a ban on conversion practices, with Labor and the Greens pledging stronger laws than the Liberals have planned.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Laying the foundation for the Liberals' latest election commitment.
00:07 Jeremy Rockleff trying to nail home his plan to reduce the cost of housing.
00:13 I'm excited today because we're going to take the axe to land tax.
00:18 The Liberals are promising to raise the tax-free threshold by 25% to land valued at up to $125,000.
00:28 Effectively meaning 4,400 Tasmanians will not receive a land tax bill.
00:35 From cutting tax to encouraging construction, Labor's promising to purchase up to 20% of new apartments
00:43 and add them to Tasmania's stock of social and government housing.
00:47 This not only supports people who are on the public housing register to get a home sooner,
00:51 but it also gives certainty for those developers.
00:55 International Women's Day, Labor has also committed funding for four additional beds
01:00 in a new mother-baby unit in Hobart, as well as six other beds around the state.
01:05 While the Liberals are streamlining access to the oral contraceptive pill,
01:10 with new prescriptions only required every two years instead of every year.
01:16 While the major parties have been focused on health and housing,
01:19 the Greens are calling for stricter laws to ban conversion practices,
01:24 which try to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
01:30 It comes as the LGBTIQA community continue to criticise the Liberals' draft legislation
01:37 for failing to follow the Law Reform Institute's recommendations.
01:41 It would make it worse because it would provide a loophole in legislation
01:46 that would enable people to continue harmful conversion practices.
01:51 The Labor Party will act swiftly to put a permanent ban on conversion practices
01:56 and make sure that the legislation we put forward is an effective ban.
02:00 What we are putting forward is a ban on conversion therapy.
02:04 I want, and have always advocated for, an inclusive Tasmania.
02:08 Advocating for inclusion with a policy that's continuing to cause division.
02:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]