Big Brother – The first openly gay housemate on Australian Big Brother, Zach, has narrowly missed out on ‘going all the way’ – coming runner up in the finale to 21 year old Aleisha. The very camp Zach went into the house with the express purpose of challenging viewers not to ‘judge a book by its cover’ and he appeared to achieve just that with his popularity skyrocketing in the closing weeks of Big Brother. As runner up, Zach walks away with $20 000 cash, a car and a holiday, and plans to start his own corset-making business in the coming months – promising one fan online that he’d be ready to create corsets to order for Mardi Gras next year.
ANU Report – Hot on the heels of the HREOC Same Sex: Same Entitlements report comes the findings of a study carried out by the Australian National University that a ‘significant minority’ of Australians are missing out on basic democratic rights and legal entitlements because they are not heterosexual. The report found that whilst significant progress had been made at a state level, the lack of change at Federal level meant Australia was lagging behind comparable countries.
Mixed Messages – National queer activist Rodney Croome has expressed frustration at the Federal Government’s ongoing failure to act immediately on the discrimination currently faced by same-sex couples. The Federal Attorney-General, Phillip Ruddock has committed to tabling a response to the recommendations outlined in the recent HREOC Report before the federal election, but has also indicated that because of cost and other implications the government would prefer to address same-sex entitlements on a case-by-case basis.
However, the government appears to be sending contradictory messages regarding its proposed method to address same-sex discrimination. In rejecting a recent application by openly gay Justice Michael Kirby, Phillip Ruddock stated that the Federal Government would not deal with one issue of same-sex entitlements in isolation from other laws. Justice Kirby had submitted that amendments be made as part of a current review of the legislation governing judge’s pensions to ensure equal access by the same-sex partners of serving judges. The response has drawn frustrated criticism from within Government ranks also, with one campaigner for gay rights – Queensland MP Warren Entsch – stating that after two and half years of inaction he felt ‘cheated’.
Trans* Travel Setback – The rights of trans* people within Australia to travel freely internationally have suffered a setback with an official determination by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that for the purposes of obtaining a passport a person’s sex is determined by what is shown on records at the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages. This means that obtaining a passport listing correct sex is now dependent on legislation which varies from state to state, and that it is no longer possible for trans* people travelling overseas for sex reassignment surgery to obtain a temporary passport. Trans* groups are concerned that this may seriously jeopardise the physical safety and freedom to travel of many trans* people.
Michael Michelle – Michael McKenna, known as Michael Michelle in drag, passed away this month at the age of 52. Michael was a well known drag performer around Australia. Part of the Connections Nightclub team for many years, Connections staff Aaron Davey and Tim Brown paid tribute to Michael saying, ‘The utmost devotion to her craft, even her gall stones were made of glitter. Michael will be sadly missed.’
VICTORIA
Fertility Rights – The Victorian Law Reform Commission has recommended reform of the state’s parenting and fertility laws to ensure same-sex couples and their families have equal legal rights and protections. This includes enabling access to adoption and assisted reproduction technology, as well as reforming the process and option for recognizing who constitutes a child’s parents. In response, the Victorian Government asked for public comment on the proposal before it considers acting on the recommendations.
WA
Foster Care – Despite foster care organisations long having advertised in Eastern States queer media, an article and an advertisement in OUTinPerth about Anglicare’s Teenshare foster care program garnered national TV media attention following a report on the ad in The West Australian. Although there are already several queer families fostering children, a second foster care agency has come forward also specifically looking for potential GLBT carers. Life Without Barriers is a new agency to WA that places children with special needs, and reports having excellent experiences with GLBT foster parents previously in other states.
NSW
University Ally – The Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL) has been working with the Community and Public Service Sector Union and Student Unions in the State to advocate for the introduction of Ally programs across all Universities in NSW. The program, initially developed at the University of Western Australia, aims to create a network of supportive allies for staff and students as well as provide for review of university policy to ensure it is inclusive. To date, only the Australian Catholic University has rejected the program outright and GLRL hopes that all other NSW Universities will eventually adopt the program.
