National

Regional Services Lacking

Rural LGBT communities still lack adequate health services and face limited access to the same level of help offered in urban areas of Australia, a health services executive has said.

Country Awareness Network (CAN) Executive Officer Adam Wright said it depended on location and circumstances as ‘some regions may be blessed and have great services while others may be completely different.’ (more…)

Australia Urged to Act Now on Human Rights

Australia’s leading human rights organisation has pushed for same-sex marriage and federal LGBTI anti-discrimination laws in a comprehensive review compiled for the United Nations.

The Australian Human Rights Commission released the report last month and has lodged it with the UN Human Rights Council for review in January 2011.

This will be Australia’s first Universal Periodical Review; a process the UN began in 2006 to examine the conditions of equality in all 192 member states across the globe. (more…)

National News Briefs - September

Killer Convicted after 19 Years

A man who brutally bashed a gay man almost two decades ago was jailed for at least 11-and-a-half years. 47-year-old Paul Darcy Armstrong was sentenced on Thursday August 12 in the NSW Supreme Court after a jury found him guilty, AAP reported. In September 1991, 27-year-old Felipe Flores was picked up by Armstrong at a Sydney bar. Just half-an-hour after seen leaving the bar, Mr Flores’ body was discovered in a deserted area at Woolloomooloo, known as lover’s lane. Presiding Justice Terrence Buddin said ‘the deceased had been brutally beaten to death’. Armstrong was sentenced to 17 years jail but may be eligible for parole in May 2020. (more…)

Out in The Cold- Homeless Doing it Tough this Winter

This July has been one of the coldest on record, making the streets a rougher place to sleep, but a combination of strategies have raised community awareness in recent weeks, potentially making the winter easier for thousands of homeless people.

The recent Vinnies CEO Sleepout, which invited company executives to sleep rough, saw over $2.8 million raised across the country, with Perth the second highest fundraising city. (more…)

Marriage Ban Stands Six Years On

Candy is meant to be one of the traditional gifts to celebrate an anniversary of six years, however there’s nothing sweet about the sixth anniversary of the same-sex marriage ban this month.

On August 13 six years ago, the Australian Parliament introduced legislation that would cement the inequities of LGBT relationships into law.

In 2004, Australian politicians took part in fierce debate over the purpose of marriage and the value of homosexual relationships. (more…)

National News Briefs - August

Focus on Mental Health
Same-sex attracted youth featured in the first ever International Youth Mental Health Conference held last month in Melbourne. La Trobe University researcher Lynne Hillier said her presentation focused on the experiences of 25 SS-attracted young Victorians, many of them living in rural areas. ‘It’s really hard for them, access to services and their groups of friends are reduced if they come out. They don’t have the anonymity like you would in the city,’ Hillier said. Hillier also announced the third ‘Writing Themselves In’ survey had just closed, notching up over 3,000 participants with the release expected for October this year. (more…)

Heads Up for Youth Mental Health

Mental health issues will affect one in four young people every year.

Taking into account that Australia’s LGBT community has twice the rate of psychological distress than its heterosexual counterpart, the urgency behind the mental wellbeing of our youth becomes overwhelmingly bleak.

This stark realisation, compounded with the growing awareness around mental health has become the catalyst for first ever International Youth Mental Health Conference, titled Heads Up! at the end of July in Melbourne. (more…)

Homophobia alive and well in Queensland

New research from a Queensland study has uncovered startlingly high levels of homophobic abuse in the state.

1,100 people from the LGBT community took part in the survey; the largest sample size to review instances of harassment and violence against the LGBT people in Queensland.

The study Speaking Out: Stopping Homophobic and Transphobic Abuse in Queensland found that around 70 per cent of gay and lesbian Queenslanders have been verbally abused, with 53 per cent experiencing it within the past two years. (more…)

Blood Battle Continues

Gay rights activists have criticised the Red Cross for allowing people with tattoos and piercings to donate blood half a year earlier than gay men.

Michael Cain from the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights group has pushed for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to explain why it has maintained its year-long waiting period on gay male blood donors.

The ARCBS reduced the waiting time to six months for people who’ve had acupuncture, tattoos or piercings in light of new testing that identified Hepatitis DNA. (more…)

National News Briefs - July

Will Julia Let us Marry?
In a sudden ascension to power, Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister of Australia late last month. Australian Marriage Equality was quick to act on the decision by the ALP, congratulating our first female PM on her new role in an official letter. The same-sex marriage organisation lobbied Ms Gillard to amend the Marriage Act and current ban on same-sex marriage. However, the new PM has previously stuck to party lines and followed Mr Rudd’s decision to leave the current ban intact. AME National Convener Alex Greenwich sent the letter on the day Ms Gillard entered office, including a series of arguments against the prohibition of same-sex marriage. (more…)