Tasmania is to expunge historic convictions of consensual sex between men and will become the first Australian state to issue a formal apology to the men and their families. The Australian State, which was the last to decriminalise homosexual sex in 1997, will join South Australia, Victoria, the ACT and New South Wales in expunging the historical convictions next year. Tasmanian Attorney- General, Vanessa Goodwin, says: “The legislation will ensure any individual prosecuted under these offences will no longer suffer distress or be disadvantaged by a criminal record in relation to travel, employment, and volunteering.” Early this month, New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams revealed that there is little hope of a “broad-brush wiping” of historical convictions for homosexual acts here. She stated that she is willing to consider individual cases but that, “Its impossible to tell whether they involved consensual acts or not after the event, because of the way the law was written.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 21st December 2015 - 10:02am