News

In what appears to be a world first, a man has been cured of HIV. The case was first reported at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that took place in Boston in February of this year. Following a story in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, November 11, amFAR (previously called the American Foundation for AIDS Research) released a report on November 5 from its scientific team outlining details and initial stages of verification of the case. (more…)

This month, Mormons have been (metaphorically) caught with their pants down and are feeling the wrath of civil and gay rights activists over their support for Proposition 8 in California – a voter initiative to define marriage between a man and a woman – as well as the church-sponsored Brigham Young University’s denial of a degree to Chad Hardy (pictured) over his role in publishing the topless male calendar Mormons Exposed. (more…)

Pride WA appears to have successfully lived up to it’s theme for 2008 ‘Reinvention’, hosting a well supported month-long festival that appears to have avoided the financial and organisational difficulties that have plagued the organisation in recent years.

This year Pride WA Inc introduced new strategies to ensure the financial viability of the organisation and the events that it runs, including introducing an entry fee for Fairday, employing a professional event manger for Fairday, collaborating with an established GLBT venue to present the party, and running a separate women’s party. (more…)

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill, based on the recommendations of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, cleared the first hurdle toward becoming law in early October, passing the state’s lower house 48 votes to 36.

The bill boosts parenting rights for gay partners and parents of surrogate children. (more…)

On November 1 the inaugural Pink Sofa Cup – a new national lesbian tennis tournament – was held at Loton Park. It saw Melbourne’s Ace Girls fly in to battle it out with the Loton Park Ladies in competition which included hotly contested singles and doubles matches.

The morning started slowly for the Loton Ladies, with the top two Ace Girls easily winning their games. However, the rest of the games were hard fought, with a very tough 3 set match between Claire (Loton) and Rema (Ace) ending with Claire coming out the winner. The final singles tally was Loton 4, Ace Girls 2. (more…)

Dr Dan Parker has returned from the 4th National Conference on GLBT Ageing which took place in New York from October 12 to 14, where he presented a workshop on the work of Perth’s GLBT Retirement Association Incorporated (GRAI). Over 600 people attended the conference, and while the majority were service providers rather than researchers, representatives from the UK’s Age Concern plus America’s SAGE (Service and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) were in attendance. Overall the conference examined a number of various models being utilised to create a sustainable future for aged GLBT retirement care. (more…)

A federal Bill designed to give GLBTI parents greater access to the Family Law Court looks set to be passed, as the Senate prepares to debate two other historic pieces of equality legislation.

Changes to the Family Law Act soon to be given a final vote by the Senate will allow heterosexual and same-sex couples access to the Family Law Courts on matters of property and maintenance, and will recognise children of co-mothers and co-fathers born to same-sex partners through IVF and surrogacy in federal law. (more…)

Gay Mayor for Melbourne?
Melbourne may have its first-ever gay mayor after Melbourne’s openly gay Deputy Lord Mayor Gary Singer nominated for the job. Singer was key to the establishment for the city’s relationships register open to same-sex couples. Other queer candidates for Deputy Mayor include Greens member Kathleen Maltzahn and Tim Wilson.

Wanted: GLBTI foster carers
Gay men and lesbians in Victoria are being urged to become foster parents to help with a critical shortfall. A recent report commissioned by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare has encouraged foster care groups to appeal to the GLBTI community. ‘Your personal circumstances are not the issue; the real issue is: do you have capacity to care for a child?’ said the centre’s president, Kevin Zibell. (more…)

United States
In a historic victory, Barack Obama has been elected as the President of the United States of America. As the country’s first black President, Obama’s acceptance speech signalled that America was on the cusp of change and that it could only be achieved by recognising the diversity inherent in the USA – which includes gay Americans. ‘If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dreams of our founders are alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,’ he said ‘It is the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who send a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states - we are and always will be the United States of America.’
Meanwhile in California, 85% of the ballots counted in regards to Proposition 8 show that 51.7% of those have voted ‘yes’ to Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment which effectively will place a ban on gay and lesbian marriage across the state. (more…)

In the Delhi High Court this month the final stages of hearings into India’s anti-sodomy laws will be held. The laws have been targeted by human rights groups and HIV/AIDS organisations for their victimisation of GLBT people and sex worker populations. The systematic discrimination supported by the laws are contributing to poorer access to treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, fuelling the epidemic amongst these vulnerable sectors of the population. (more…)