Tasmania's deputy premier challenges Greens' conversion-practice ban proposal

Guy Barnett, Tasmania's deputy premier and attorney-general, wrote to anti-trans group Women Speak Tasmania to oppose a Greens-draft bill that seeks to criminalise conversion practices. Barnett argued the wording is vague and could lead to prosecutions for ordinary parent-child discussions or religious prayers, labeling the proposal as one of the most extreme in Australia. The Greens' draft defines conversion practices as attempts to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and includes exemptions for religious expression and parental dialogue, which Barnett says are too broad.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff countered that the bill mirrors legislation already passed in other states and that Barnett's comments ignore evidence of ongoing harm. Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who has publicly supported a ban, said he is interested in the bill but has not announced the government's stance, leaving the legislation's future uncertain.