BY JENNI RYALL From Mashable

An Australian state government will apologise for historic laws which criminalised homosexuality.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced Sunday he will make an official apology on May 24 regarding the former state laws in which homosexual men could be jailed for 15 years for consensual sex with another man. The date will mark almost 35 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in March, 1981.

Speaking at Melbourne’s annual Midsumma Pride March, Andrews said it has been a long wait for many to clear their names. “These laws cast a long, dark shadow of prejudice that still stands today, and our apology is one small but meaningful way to right that historic wrong,” he said, according to a statement.

It follows the introduction of expungement​ laws in September, which allow men convicted of homosexual sex to have their records wiped clean.

“The scheme applies to past sexual and public morality offences such as buggery, gross indecency with a male and offensive behaviour, that once criminalised consensual homosexuality,” the government said in a statement at the time. “Following a conviction being expunged, police, prosecution and court records will be cleared of the offence, and electronic records amended or deleted.”

At the time, the government committed itself to a formal apology. It is now following through on its promise by setting an official date. “These offences should never have been a crime. The expungement scheme will right historical wrongs and free individuals from unjustly wearing a criminal record,” Attorney-General Martin Pakula said in September.

The state of Queensland is also looking at a move to expunge historic convictions for homosexual sex. In January, the Queensland government referred the issue to the Queensland Law Reform Commission to work out the best way to clear a person’s record of such convictions before 1990, the year homosexuality was decriminalised in the state.

IMAGE: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten speaks at the Midsumma March. IMAGE: AAP IMAGES

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