The Shocking 21-Year-Prison-Threat For Gay Sex Exposed In A New ABC Documentary
The first episode of Judgment: Cases That Changed Australia aired on ABC last night, and it opened with a moment that still hits hard. Two men walked into a Hobart police station in 1994 and confessed to a crime that could have landed them in prison for 21 years. Their offence? Being in a consensual same-sex relationship.
One of those men was Rodney Croome, a Tasmanian activist who had already been arrested four times at Hobart’s Salamanca Market for staffing a gay law reform stall. The other was Nick Toonen. Together, they forced a legal battle that would wind its way from Tasmania to the United Nations and, eventually, to the High Court of Australia.
A state that refused to budge
Tasmania was the last Australian state to decriminalise homosexuality, and its government was not giving ground quietly. Sections 122 and 123 of the Tasmanian Criminal Code made all sexual contact between consenting adult men a criminal offence, punishable by up to 21 years’ imprisonment. For context, that’s a heavier sentence than some forms of assault.
Toonen took the case to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee in 1994, arguing the laws violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee agreed, ruling that sexual orientation fell under the Covenant’s anti-discrimination protections. It was the first time an international body had recognised sexual orientation as a protected status under international law.
But Tasmania still wouldn’t move.
The High Court steps in
That’s where Croome v Tasmania came in. In 1997, Croome applied to the High Court for a ruling on whether Tasmania’s Criminal Code clashed with the federal Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994, which the Commonwealth had passed in response to the UN decision. The High Court ruled 6-0 in Croome’s favour, confirming the Commonwealth had the constitutional power to override Tasmania’s laws.
Faced with a unanimous High Court loss, the Tasmanian parliament finally repealed its anti-gay laws. The bill passed the Legislative Council by a single vote on 1 May 1997. Homosexuality was no longer a crime in any part of Australia.
From courtroom to camera
The ABC’s four-part documentary series, directed by Larissa Behrendt and Victoria Midwinter Pitt, uses dramatic reconstructions alongside interviews and archival footage to bring these legal battles to life. Croome, who went on to found Australian Marriage Equality and was named Tasmanian Australian of the Year in 2015, appears in the series, with actor Bede Smith portraying the young Croome in the reconstructions.
Have you watched it yet? At DNA, we’d say this is required viewing. Stream Episode 1 on ABC iview.
What else does the series cover?
The remaining three episodes of Judgment tackle the Mabo case and Indigenous land rights (airing 21 April), immigration detention, and the right to vote. Each examines how ordinary Australians took their fights to the country’s highest court and changed the law for everyone. All episodes are streaming on ABC iview.
