On this day in 1999 Senator Brian Greig delivered his first speech in federal parliament. His speech is remembered for being the first time a senator used their inaugural speech to make a significant statement about being gay and the need for LGBTIQA+ rights to enshrined in law.
“I would be painting an incomplete picture if I did not detail the most profound aspect of that journey. That is the fact that, since the age of 12, I have known I am gay. This has profoundly influenced my life and given me personal insight into intolerance, prejudice and the hatred that I might not otherwise have experienced.
“Equally, it has made me determined to stand against this and to fight against all unjust laws by confronting law and opinion makers with the reality of their intolerance.” Greig told parliament.
Greig went on to talk about Western Australia’s laws which saw homosexual acts being illegal until 1990, and how at that stage the age of consent still remained at 21 for gay men. He spoke about where discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people was still occurring and the stereotypes about queer people that lead fueled prejudice.
Justice Michael Kirby, Matthew Shepherd, Armistead Maupin and Rodney Croome were mentioned in the speech, and he also commented on the huge number of men who had been killed or bashed in Sydney because of their sexuality, or the perception that they were gay.
Prior to being elected to parliament Greig had worked as a staffer for several Labor politicians including Diana Warnock, Carmen Lawrence and Peter Cook. Disillusioned with Labor’s lack of action on gay rights, he joined the Australian Democrats.
From 1995 to 1999 Greig has been a councilor at the City of Vincent, where he made history as the first person in Western Australia to be elected to public office while also been open about their homosexuality.
During his time in parliament LGBTIQA+ issues were often on Brian Greig’s agenda. In 2003 the Howard Government allowed changes that ended discrimination against same-sex couples in the area of superannuation.
In 2008, after Grieg had left the parliament, the Rudd government introduced a wide number of changes that removed discrimination against LGBTIQA+ couples, it was acknowledged that much of the ground work for these changes had been laid by Brian Greig and previous Democrats senator Sid Spindler.
Just prior to the 2004 federal election being called the Howard government introduced the bill that specifically limited marriage to being between a man and a woman. The ban against same sex marriage was supported by the Labor opposition. Brian Greig was just one of nine parliamentarians who voted against the ban which would remain in place for the next thirteen years.
At the election Brian Greig was not successful in securing another term. Today he remains an outspoken LGBTIQA rights advocate through is work with Just.Equal and the Busselton Pride Alliance.
Lily Tomlin was born on this day in 1939
Actor and comedian Lily Tomlin was born on this day in 1939.
Tomlin began performing stand-up comedy after she finished college and made her TV debut on The Merv Griffin Show in 1956.
She joined the cast of TV show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In in 1969 and was an instant success performing many comic characters including her legendary alter-ego Telephone Operator Ernestine, and Edith Ann, a five year old girl who appears in a giant oversized rocking chair. Tomlin would later revisit the characters for appearances on children’s television show Sesame Street.
In 1975 Tomin moved from comedy to drama when she appeared in Robert Altman’s Nashville. Over the following decades Tomlin would appear in many of the director’s works including Shortcuts, A Prairie Home Companion and The Player.
Tomlin really made her mark though in comedy films including some of the biggest box office hits of the 1980’s including All Of Me opposite Steve Martin, Big Business with Bette Midler, and 9 to 5 alongside Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda.
On television Tomlin has appeared in many television series including The West Wing, Homicide – Life on the Street, Desperate Housewives, Damages and Murphy Brown. Her most recent success has been on the series Grace and Frankie which saw her reunited with Jane Fonda, and her West Wing co-star Martin Sheen, alongside Sam Waterston.
In 2013 Tomlin married her partner, writer Jane Wagner. The couple had already been together for 42 years when they tied the knot.
OIP Staff  Â
