Calls for Comment – ACON has called for public comment on its comprehensive draft strategy for addressing the distinct health needs of the NSW lesbian community. Developed after extensive state-wide consultation, the strategy seeks to improve the effectiveness of ACON’s service provision and set out a clear plan for mainstream health services.
Mission Impossible – Despite having previously completed a mission in Australia, a young Christian missionary to Australia who was spreading the word of God in schools through hip hop has ended up fighting deportation back to the US after the religious group discovered his sexuality. He was dismissed because of ‘unauthorised text messages.’
Archiving the Future – The Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives has been handed an anonymous donation of $10,000 to kick of its Archives30 Future Fund campaign. The campaign aims to ensure the security of the archives, which are the only national organisation collecting and preserving GLBT history in Australia.
Positive Disclosure – The HIV/AIDS Legal Centre has launched a new resource to help clarify when and where members of the positive community have a responsibility to disclose their status. The resource is designed to ensure that those affected by HIV meet their legal obligations whilst protecting themselves and others.
Stay, Ali, Stay – Following a review of 61 long-term detention cases by new Immigration Minister Chris Evans, queer refugee Ali Humayun from Pakistan has been granted permanent residency. Humayun’s case was one of many that prompted calls for members of the Refugee Review Tribunal to receive sexuality training. The training is expected to be rolled out later this year.
Balancing Act – New Mardi Gras Chair David Imrie says he is keen to return the organisation to its roots of ‘giving back’ to the community. It’s a task he acknowledges will be ‘a very hard balancing act… we still need corporate involvement… but we are very aware of the need to listen to community responses.’
Religious Tolerance – Christian organisations across Australia may no longer be able to legally discriminate against gay people on religious grounds following a ruling by the NSW Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal found that the diversity of views regarding homosexuality amongst Christians demonstrated that there was not a clear Christian doctrine of homosexuality being sinful, and therefore blanket religious exemptions did not apply. This year 100 clergy from across Australia marched at Mardi Gras in a formal apology to gays and lesbians for the way they have been treated by some Christian churches.
Senate Stall Tactics – The Liberals have been criticised for stalling promised gay and lesbian reform by pushing for the Government’s Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – Superannuation) Bill 2008 to be sent to Senate Inquiry. Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson claimed the Liberals wanted to remove discrimination, but were concerned the changes could ‘devalue the traditional status of marriage as the bedrock of society.’
