“Irrational and illogical” to believe that sexual orientation can never change: Federal judge
A judge of the Federal Court of Australia , Justice Jagot, handed down a decision recently in which her Honour said that a Tribunal’s reasoning, based on the assumption that a person could never change their sexual orientation , was “affected by illogicality of the kind required to constitute jurisdictional error”- para [15]. The decision, in Abboud v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2018] FCA 185 (2 March 2018), was a sharp reminder that bureaucratic decisions must be based on evidence and not pre-conceived policy stances. The comments may have wider implications for arguments that are often unthinkingly presented about the possibility of someone changing their sexual orientation. Factual Background The facts of this case at first seem unlikely to raise fundamental issues about human sexuality. Ms Abboud had arrived in Australia on a student visa and over-stayed her visit. Later, however, she married Mr Abboud, who was himself originally from Leba...
