Australian Greens LGBTIQ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice has lodged a notice of motion in the Senate requesting documents that lay out the advice the government has used to arrive at the postal plebiscite plan.

“Like many Australians today, we have many questions about the Government’s ludicrous postal plebiscite. The public deserves to know more about just how the government has cooked up this hair-brained idea,” said Senator Rice.

The Australian Greens are urging the federal government to assist universities in implementing the recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report on sexual assault and harassment on university campuses.

The report shows LGBTIQ students experience much higher rates of assault and harassment, with 45% of trans and gender diverse students, 44% bisexual students and 38% gay/lesbian students sexually harassed on campus in 2016. Trans and gender diverse students were more likely to experience harassment than any other group.

Christopher Pyne’s comments about marriage equality over the weekend show just how impatient many members of the Coalition are for marriage equality to be achieved now, say the Greens.

‘It’s staggering that Malcolm Turnbull is publicly standing by Tony Abbott’s plebiscite, meanwhile one of his senior ministers says equality will happen “sooner than everyone thinks,”’ said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens spokesperson for LGBTIQ issues.

‘Australian couples shouldn’t be forced to keep waiting for their love to be recognised,’ said Senator Rice.

Senator Janet Rice, Greens LGBTIQ spokesperson, has slammed Margaret Court’s most recent comments about marriage equality and trans young people, and called on Malcolm Turnbull to stand up to bigotry once and for all.

The Department of the Attorney General has revealed in Senate Estimate that they do not know whether Departments have implemented guidelines on the recognition of sex and gender which were introduced in 2013 and which should have been rolled out by 2016.

Questioned by Senator Janet Rice, Greens LGBTIQ spokesperson, the Department admitted that ten months after the guidelines should have been implemented, they didn’t know whether the Department of Human Services’ failure to do so was an isolated incident, or indicative of more widespread lack of compliance.