Rodney Croome

Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. Croome currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group, National Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality and one of the founders of the Australian Coalition for Equality (ACE).^[1]

Croome grew up on a dairy farm in Tasmania's North West and studied European History at the University of Tasmania. He was the founding president and long-term board member of the Tasmanian LGBT support organisation, 'Working It Out' as well as serving on various other similar organisations and had been in a leading role in the establishing challenging-homophobia education in Tasmanian state schools and in the Tasmanian Police, as well as the instituting of anti-discrimination laws in Tasmania.^[1] He also fronted the successful campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Tasmania, which until 1 May 1997 was a criminal offence punishable by up to 25 years in jail.^[2] That campaign saw Tasmanian activists take their case to the United Nations (Toonen v Australia), the Federal Government and the High Court.^[1] In 1997 in the case of Croome v Tasmania, Croome applied to the High Court of Australia for a ruling as to whether the Tasmanian laws were inconsistent with the Federal Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act (1994). The Tasmanian Government repealed the relevant Criminal Code provisions after failing in its attempts to have the matter struck out.^[3]

For his extensive work in this area he was made the inaugural recipient of the Tasmanian Humanitarian of the Year Award and awarded the Chris Carter Memorial Award for contributions to the gay and lesbian community by the Australian Democrats in 1991. In 1994, he was shortlisted for Australian of the Year. In January 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for "service and extensive contribution to gay and lesbian law reform"^[4] and in June 2003 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to the community as a human rights advocate, particularly through promoting tolerance and understanding of the human rights of gay and lesbian people".^[5]

In early 2004, Croome predicted that the Howard Government would legislate to rule out the possibility for same-sex marriage.^[6] On 13 August 2004, such a law was passed by the government, with support from the then Labor Opposition.^[7] This led to the establishment of the Australian Marriage Equality lobby group, of which Croome became a board member and, following the departure of Alex Greenwich in 2012, National Convenor.

In 2009, Croome was named one of the 25 most influential gay Australians by readers of the website samesame.com.au.^[2] In 2010, he co-authored a book presenting the cases for and against marriage equality, entitled WHY vs WHY: Gay Marriage (Pantera Press).^[8] In addition to his advocacy work, Croome has been the editor of the Tasmanian literary journal, 'Island', a research consultant for the Port Arthur Management Authority and the Australian National University-based Freilich Foundation, and an Honorary lecturer in Sociology at the University of Tasmania.

On 8 May 2013 Croome debated Patrick Langrell on Same Sex Marriage at the University of New South Wales.^[9]

Croome supports Australia's transex and intersex communities in their quest for marriage equality saying, "the marriage equality campaign must be inclusive of all loving committed couples regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status"^[10]

Croome was named Tasmanian Australian of the Year for 2015, and was a finalist for 2015 Australian of the Year. ^[11]

Publications

• Croome, Rodney; Muehlenberg, Bill (2010). WHY vs WHY: Gay Marriage. Sydney: Pantera Press. ISBN 978-0-9807418-5-8. 

References

External links

• Rodney Croome - gay advocate
• Rodney Croome - On Line Opinion Author
• Rodney Croome - ABC's The Drum
• Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group (TGLRG) website
• Australian Marriage Equality (AME) website