Greens MP wants more LGBTQIA+ committees

SIX months since the City of Greater Geelong set up its LGBTQIA+ advisory committee, a call has been made for one to be formed in the Surf Coast Shire.

Greens Member for Western Victoria Sarah Mansfield is urging residents to support the LGBTQIA+ community by signing Rainbow Local Government’s petition, which if successful, would establish an advisory committee similar to Geelong’s on the Surf Coast.

“Councils play such an important role in helping their local communities feel seen and heard,” Ms Mansfield said.

“Establishing an LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee would empower Surf Coast Shire’s LGBTQIA+ residents to have their say on ways to reduce discrimination and make the area safer and more inclusive.”

Ms Mansfield played a large part in the formation of the city’s new LGBTQIA+ advisory committee in 2022, moving the motion to establish it during her time as a councillor.

Geelong’s committee, which was first announced in August last year, meets six times a year to advise the council on issues that affect people in the City of Greater Geelong who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Setting a new precedent in the south-west regions, Geelong’s new committee provides advice to a range of initiatives run by the city, such as the Gender and Sexuality Project for young people, staff training, IDAHOBIT Day, and Wear It Purple Day events.

“We know other councils across the state have begun establishing committees like this and so we’re urging residents to sign the Rainbow Local Government petition as a way to encourage Surf Coast Shire to do the same,” Ms Mansfield said.

“LGBTQIA+ communities should be able to have their say on the issues that affect them and their families, and this is an important way to make sure they have a seat at the table.”

To view the petition, head to actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-surf-coast-shire-council-lgbtiqa-advisory-committee