As debate about women’s reproductive rights ramps up around the country, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has issued a warning that we must continue to fight against politcians who want to take away the reproductive protections women have fought for.
In an exclusive interview with Guardian Australia, Allan said she was “deeply concerned” that the reproductive rights women have won are now being used as a “political tool”.
“But even worse, there are real and genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won. Legislation to protect their rights is being looked at being torn down at too many opportunities by conservative politicians,” Allan said in the interview.
Allan’s comments come ahead of the Queensland election this weekend, where abortion has become a hot topic, thanks to the men of the Katter Australian Party. The party has hopes of introducing a private member’s bill to repeal abortion laws in the next term of the Queensland parliament.
“We will, quick as you like, put a repeal bill back into the Queensland parliament on those abortion laws,” Robbie Katter said earlier this month.
The question of abortion rights has followed Opposition leader David Crisafulli for weeks, with him refusing to give away his personal position on the issue or say whether he would allow the LNP to have a conscience vote on a private member’s bill.
When the Queensland Labor government decriminalised abortion in the state in 2018, all but three LNP members of parliament voted against the change.
In the last leaders’ debate of the campaign on Tuesday, Queensland Premier Steven Miles asked Crisafulli if he believed in a “woman’s right to choose”.
Crisafulli replied that he did and said the current abortion laws would not change under his leadership. That’s despite the fact that he voted against decriminalising abortion in Queensland in 2018.
Footage has also surfaced this week of Crisafulli speaking last year, where he said he supported conscience votes on abortion.
Abortion rights are now a deciding issue of Saturday’s election, with Premier Miles repeatedly making clear his strong support for women and their right to choose, noting abortion was decriminalised when he was health minister.
Meanwhile, reproductive rights have also been back in the headlines in South Australia, where a bill to amend abortion rights that has been described as “Trumpian” and “extreme” was only narrowly voted down with 10 votes to 9.
The bill, introduced by Liberal MP Ben Hood would have forced pregnant people seeking an abortion from 28 weeks to be induced and to deliver the baby alive.
In federal politics, Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has also said that there should be a national debate on abortion rights. Her comments forced senior Liberal women including Sussan Ley and Senator Jane Hume to confirm that the party has no plans to change any laws.