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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/16/queensland-votes-to-equalise-age-of-consent-for-all-sexual-acts
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| Queensland votes to equalise age of consent for all sexual acts Queensland votes to equalise age of consent for all sexual acts | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The age of consent for all sexual acts in Queensland will be standardised at 16 after the state’s parliament voted to lower the age of consent for anal sex from 18. | The age of consent for all sexual acts in Queensland will be standardised at 16 after the state’s parliament voted to lower the age of consent for anal sex from 18. |
| The criminal code will also be amended to replace references to “sodomy” with “anal intercourse” after the Queensland Aids Council said the former term had connotations of outdated laws and moral standards. | The criminal code will also be amended to replace references to “sodomy” with “anal intercourse” after the Queensland Aids Council said the former term had connotations of outdated laws and moral standards. |
| Queensland is the only state in Australia to have different legal ages of consent for anal and vaginal sex. | Queensland is the only state in Australia to have different legal ages of consent for anal and vaginal sex. |
| The health minister, Cameron Dick, said the amendments were aimed at improving sexual health. | The health minister, Cameron Dick, said the amendments were aimed at improving sexual health. |
| “Too often the conversation about the age of consent has focused on morality and, worse still, on criminality,” he told parliament. “[With these amendments] we remove a discriminatory provision from our statute books and support the sexual health and wellbeing of young Queenslanders.” | “Too often the conversation about the age of consent has focused on morality and, worse still, on criminality,” he told parliament. “[With these amendments] we remove a discriminatory provision from our statute books and support the sexual health and wellbeing of young Queenslanders.” |
| The Liberal National party did not oppose the changes but expressed concerns about how young people would be educated about them. | The Liberal National party did not oppose the changes but expressed concerns about how young people would be educated about them. |
| “We do need certainty and clarity from the government as to how it will educate the 16 to 17-year-old cohort around these changes,” the opposition’s health spokesman, John-Paul Langbroek, said. | “We do need certainty and clarity from the government as to how it will educate the 16 to 17-year-old cohort around these changes,” the opposition’s health spokesman, John-Paul Langbroek, said. |
| But the federal LNP Queensland backbencher George Christensen said on Facebook the change in the law opened the way for 16-year-olds to be “groomed” by much older men. | But the federal LNP Queensland backbencher George Christensen said on Facebook the change in the law opened the way for 16-year-olds to be “groomed” by much older men. |
| "Respectful debate" pic.twitter.com/LlI3rFznhf | "Respectful debate" pic.twitter.com/LlI3rFznhf |
| The Queensland Aids Council’s executive director, Michael Scott, welcomed the change, saying an unequal age of consent had been a barrier to equal access to healthcare. | The Queensland Aids Council’s executive director, Michael Scott, welcomed the change, saying an unequal age of consent had been a barrier to equal access to healthcare. |
| “We are concerned that, with the current inequality of age of consent, young people who are sexually active are reluctant to access sexual health services including HIV and other STI testing and preventative health education for fear of being prosecuted,” he said. | “We are concerned that, with the current inequality of age of consent, young people who are sexually active are reluctant to access sexual health services including HIV and other STI testing and preventative health education for fear of being prosecuted,” he said. |