Tasmania’s police force marches with Pride for the first time
Police in Tasmania have marched with the state’s Pride parade for the first time.
The participation was intended to show a modern police force committed to protecting human rights, said Commissioner Darren Hine.
Walking through Hobart, the force joined the march, ending at Parliament House.
Around a dozen officers joined the parade which took place on Saturday.
The Commissioner said the participation of the officers showed a stark change from just 27 years ago when 130 activists were arrested whilst campaigning for reform of laws affecting gay people.
“We’ve got to learn from what happened in the past and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got strong relationships with the LGBTI community,” he said.
While the Commissioner recognises that the force has come far, and became the first force to formally have a liaison with the LGBT community, he admits there is still a way to go.
“Tasmania Police has made significant progress over a number of years in building strong relationships with the LGBTI community,’’ Mr Hine said.
“We seek to lead by example, influence future behaviours, and demonstrate Tasmania Police’s commitment to value and respect everyone, regardless of sexuality and gender.”
Several efforts to legalise same-sex marriage in Tasmania, as well as across Australia, have failed.
