Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 22:21:30 +1000
From: leto@rabbit.com.au (Brendon Wickham)
Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 9/1/97

BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER

Issue #123 - 9/1/97

Including:
1. ALSO oust archives
2. No more anti-gay police
3. Party's a knockout
4. Geelong beat danger
5. Muster cracks a Woody
6. Cinema's a drag

This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point
your URL to http://werple.net.au/~leto/news - or
go through the Pacific Region of the QRD at
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/


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ALSO OUST ARCHIVES

*The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives are the latest
community group left without a home due to changes
recently made by ALSO.*

ALSO's abandonment of plans to purchase a Gay and
Lesbian Community Centre has not only forced out
current tenants-Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Bent
TV and Gay and Lesbian Switchboard-from the Cato
Street headquarters, but for the Australian Lesbian and
Gay Archives which gave up other accommodation
following ALSO's offer to house the national collection
in its new Gay and Lesbian Community Centre.

The Archives received assurances from ALSO that such a
centre would be operational by early 1997, at which time
the Archives would take its place alongside other groups
to be tenants in the Centre, including the three current
tenants at Cato Street. Although temporarily housed by
the Victorian AIDS Council, the future of the Archives,
beyond 1997, is uncertain.

This week, Bent TV added its questions and concerns to
those already raised in relation to ALSO's change of
direction.

Liz Baulsch, President of Bent TV, remains concerned
about the ALSO board's consultation process. "Why
weren't the members of ALSO consulted? Why weren't
the tenants and community in general consulted?" She
added: "Large decisions with no consultation implies a
conflict of interest and a hidden agenda."

David Johnston-Bell, Secretary of Bent TV, believes that
ALSO "has become a large bureaucracy that generally
tends to ignore the needs of smaller community groups".

David Owen, who spent four years on the Board and the
last three of those as Treasurer of ALSO Care, prior to
stepping down at the 1996 Annual General Meeting, did
not anticipate or have any knowledge of this change of
direction. Prior to the AGM, he claimed that "quite the
reverse was the case, that ALSO was actively, through its
Executive Officer, looking at other buildings...it was a live
issue".

"I am absolutely surprised as to why the Board would
have made a decision, because I don't think that there is
any public statement of the reasons which would justify
such a decision. What I would like to see is ALSO actually
have a meeting with its tenants and perhaps a meeting
with its members or interested people to talk about that
decision."

He noted that a recent mail-out to ALSO members was a
lost opportunity to inform them of the decision, but
emphasised the need for consultation prior to decision
making. "ALSO is the biggest and the oldest community
group and you would expect it to be a lot more
community-minded and conscious of the need to consult
with both its tenants and its members before making a
fundamentally important decision, as this is."

In addition to concerns about the lack of consultation,
Owen refutes the claim that there are insufficient funds
to purchase a Community Centre. He believes that
existing funds, distributions from estates, and further
bequests are sufficient to satisfy any lender: "it's definitely
feasible for ALSO to buy a community centre."

ALSO's decision to evict current tenants from Cato Street
was, according to the ALSO Futures Task Force, based on
"previous discussions" and the Report Regarding
Community Centre Usage and Utilisation prepared by its
Administrative Officer.

In the report it is claimed that the demand for the
centre's facilities far exceeds current usage of them. Much
of the report is given over to documenting current usage
of the centre by community groups. "High" and "low"
users are listed-high users being those groups which
"use the centre virtually on a daily basis and use all
facilities".

None of the above groups listed as "high" users were
contacted by ALSO to confirm details of their current
usage of ALSO's facilities and none of them were aware
of the report. When "high" users were contacted by
BrotherSister, it emerged that their levels of usage had
been considerably overstated.

Adam Pickvance, President of Team Melbourne,
described the encouragement and support received from
ALSO in its bid for autonomy and incorporation some
twelve months ago. Since then, ALSO has been used by
Team Melbourne only for the purpose of gathering
information.

Lucy Elliot, Victorian Network, said that their group used
a meeting room fortnightly for two hours. However,
Network is currently in recess which frees this space up at
the busiest of times: summer parties.

A spokesperson from Pride Victoria Inc-Mardi Gras
Marching Group stated that a number of invaluable
facilities were used, but only for about half an hour every
three weeks.

Keith Stodden, Secretary of Vintage Men, said that the
group now only uses some filing space. At the time the
report was compiled, Vintage Men used a number of
facilities, mainly on a monthly basis, in order to mail out
its newsletter.

ALSO are now freeing up space by terminating tenancies,
apparently to accommodate the alleged current daily
demand, and further unmet need, for ALSO's
administrative facilities.

Darren Ray, Chief Executive Officer of ALSO, offered that
"if any part of that report proved to be false...then we
would look at any submissions put to us by anybody. It is
clearly the case that since the article appeared a number of
people have made contact with the foundation
supporting the decision as well as opposing the decision
and it would be less than frank to suggest otherwise. The
Board is very responsive and has not closed its mind to
anything...any submissions put to the Board would be
considered openly and honestly".
Concern at the lack of consultation prior to a major shift
in policy remains. Suzie Goodman, President of
Melbourne Queer Film and Video Festival, remarked:
"It's outrageous that ALSO is dumping its tenants based
on a re-focussing that's without consultation and a report
that, in part, is without foundation."
Jodie Joyce




NO MORE ANTI-GAY POLICE

*A new education program for Victorian police, reported
exclusively in BrotherSister, has been revealed as just
one of many changes being instigated to make the force
more gay-friendly. *

Dolf Boek, Secretary of the Police Lesbian Gay Liaison
Committee (PLGLC), told BrotherSister that a recent press
release by Victoria Police, which encouraged men to
"break the cycle" and report violence at beats, was also
another "precursor to the force taking on anti-violence as
a focal point, as a focal message, for their involvement at
Midsumma".

Boek revealed that the Liaison Committee have prepared
a 60-page document which presents a series of beats policy
recommendations. A first draft was presented to Victoria
Police one month after the new Committee was formed,
and the police have since been working on the
recommendations with them.
According to Boek, the recommendations address "how
to actually deal with the problems associated with beats
usage in terms of violence, non-reporting of crimes,
those sorts of things".

Greg Adkins, Beats Education Officer at the Victorian
AIDS Council (VAC), told BrotherSister that Victoria
Police are adopting an increasingly proactive stance on
the issue of violence at beats and are, as with the PLGLC,
forging an effective relationship with the Beats Education
Team at VAC.

Adkins: "They're discussing things with us. They're open
to suggestions as to how they can change their handling
of people who report crime...at a number of police
stations they've agreed to withdraw from active policing
of a beat to actually assist us with our HIV prevention
education."

Since late last year, the Beats Education Team has been
producing the Ugly
Punter, a bulletin which offers information about
violence at beats, descriptions of offenders, advice to
those threatened at beats, points of contact for those who
are assaulted and advocacy for those who choose to report
crimes to the police.

The information contained in the Ugly Punter to date has
been gathered from reports to Beatsline-not from police.
For example, the recent spate of bashings at Alma Park
were reported to Beatsline by both victims and witnesses,
none of whom have been prepared to lodge complaints
with the Police. Unfortunately, police are unable to lay
charges because no formal complaints have been lodged
with them as yet.

Adkins points to recent "police bike patrols patrolling
Alma Park...to try and stamp out the violence down
there" as evidence of the new, proactive measures police
are now prepared to adopt.

Nevertheless, the reluctance on the part of gay and non-
gay identifying men to
report crimes at beats suggests that the cultural and
attitudinal change identified by Adkins is not widely
recognised. He explained that this is due to the fact that
"in the past, with some homophobic police officers at
stations...they've almost treated the witnesses as if
they've been criminals".

Now, claims Adkins, "the police, certainly at their
command level in the city, are showing a desire to be
proactive and actually supportive of men who use beats
and their exposure to episodes of violence."

Boek agrees that a shift is occurring: "The entire process
of the force is being looked at and the force is, I think,
going through some fundamental change." He adds:
"Trust is a matter of experience...if somehow we can get a
favourable experience through that dialogue then people
will develop trust in that process."

Adkins believes that homophobic police officers will
"slowly be isolated and hopefully educated within the
police force". However, he acknowledged that there are
police officers who continue to resist change.

He referred to an incident in October last year at
Johnstone Park in Geelong where "a beat user there
reported bashers that were in the Park...to one of our
workers who contacted the police...and they refused to do
anything about it. As a result, that client of ours was
actually followed home and subject to a violent incident
for 40 minutes".

In a further example, Adkins relates: "The other night we
still witnessed a police car arriving at Point Ormond
turning its headlights off and it headed over to try and
harass the gay men at the beat."

Adkins stressed that these type of police responses are
rare. "People now who witness violence or are subject to
violence should have greater confidence that the
reporting of those episodes will be treated with respect
and will be followed through."

While the Beats Education Team anticipate a request by
police to be involved in the new police education
program reported in the last issue of BrotherSister, it is
also developing community-based anti-violence
initiatives. One of these is a research project which will
examine the relationship between exposure to violence at
beats and sero-conversion. Another is the joint auspicing,
with VAC, of the first Victorian Anti-Violence Project.

A public meeting at which it is hoped a working group
will be established to set up a Victorian Anti-Violence
Project will be held on January 20. Clare Beckwith,
President of Midsumma, and Joseph O'Reilly, President
of VAC and Executive Officer of the Victorian Civil
Liberties Council will speak.
The project will address various forms of violence to
which lesbians and gay men are subject, including
domestic violence, hate crimes and homophobic attacks.

While auspiced by the Beats Education Team and VAC,
Adkins stressed that "the community owns it, so that the
success or otherwise will depend on the input and the
drive and the determination of the gay and lesbian
community to actually get a project up and running".

In addition to community-based initiatives and the
establishment of effective liaison between the
community and Victoria Police, Boek stresses the need
for the implementation of "broad policy change that
everybody adopts" so that "the force as a whole is more
responsive to the needs of the diverse community within
which it finds itself".
Jodie Joyce




PARTY'S A KNOCKOUT

*Two men were knocked unconscious and a third
injured when a mirror ball, one meter in diameter, fell
from the ceiling at Sydney's PRIDE New Year's Eve
party.*

The ball fell an estimated seven metres from the centre of
the Hordern Pavilion at around 11.10pm. The worst
injured was Troy Cox, who described himself as being
"scalped". All three men suffered cuts, although the ball
was slowed by a net of balloons suspended beneath it.

"I got about ten cards from lawyers after it happened,"
said Cox, who is not planning to take legal action. He
believes he was out cold for only a few seconds, although
his friend regained consciousness only after being taken
to the emergency room.

Cox praised security and medical staff for their prompt
response. PRIDE executive officer Bronte Morris said
yesterday: "We're not absolving ourselves of
responsibility but we are looking toward the people who
put [the mirror ball] in."

Cox is hoping that PRIDE will refund the price of his
ticket.
SSO




GEELONG BEAT DANGER

The latest release of Ugly Punter, a newsletter detailing
violence at beats in Melbourne and surrounding areas,
warns that beat users in Geelong's Johnstone Park and
Eastern Gardens are being harassed by a local gang. The
gang have attempted to lure one man into their car and
followed another home and then abused him from the
street outside his house. The driver as the car is described
as a sandy-haired, 21-year old who normally wears a
baseball cap. The gang have been operating in the area
since October.





MUSTER CRACKS WOODY

As the Australian Open action hots up, organisers of the
tournament are wondering how Austrian player Thomas
Muster will be welcomed. Some are concerned that
Australian tennis fans have not yet forgiven Muster for
calling our Mark "Woody" Woodeforde a faggot while
playing at Queens last year. Muster denies the claims and
is distreesed that Woody has mentioned the incident in
public.




CINEMA'S A DRAG

Supermodel Elle Macpherson is tipped to portray famous
transsexual performer Carlotta in an upcoming
Hollywood movie.
The Kings Cross veteran has sold the rights to her
biography, He Did It Her Way, to a major Hollywood film
company and although Macpherson must yet approve a
final script, she has indicated an interest in the part.
"When I was asked who I'd like to see doing the part, I'd
said half-jokingly Elle Macpherson," Carlotta said from
Lismore, where her current tour Carlotta and Her
Beautiful Boys is playing.
"Then I heard that her agent had been approached and
was interested, and that she was as well."
There is currently a writer working on a script in New
York, but Carlotta said the author of her original
biography, James Cockington, was also preparing a script.
"Then they'll present them to Elle to get the go-ahead
from her," she said.
"Of course I'd love to see her so the part-who wouldn't?
I think it'd be the biggest laugh in Sydney. She might not
have my legs, but the likeness is there in the tits."
Meanwhile, Carlotta's next tour, Las Vegas By Night, will
be premiering in Brisbane in March.
Carlotta described her last appearance in her old stamping
ground at Brisbane as "phenomenal".
She added, "I had a tear in my eye that evening."
Stephen Scott




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BOTTOM LINE

Smartarse by Jeffrey Smart

BORN SHOPPY

There are some things which are supposed to come
naturally to dykes and poofs: the ability to coordinate a
snappy outfit, a sense of rhythm, and a love of shopping,
for example. Looking good in a small thong of leather or
a little strip of lycra and one piece of body jewellery is fast
becoming another of these innate characteristics, but I'm
afraid I'm always going to fail that particular test. Get that
strip of material AWAY from me; cover me from head to
TOE.

Nonetheless I'm not bad at shopping, the Great Gay
Pastime. Over the Christmas/New Year period pink
dollars were flying out of my wallet faster than I could
earn them. I'm sure that shopkeepers who have aimed
themselves at the gay market were rubbing their hands
with glee and polishing their cash registers when they
heard me tripping along. Chapel Street, Commercial
Road, Greville Street, the Sportsgirl Centre, Acland
Street, Brunswick Street, Lygon Street, Barkly Square (!),
Little Collins Street, I've done them all in the past few
weeks.

I was startled, therefore, when a friend confessed on New
Year's Eve that he'd never actually been shopping in
Chapel Street (WHAT?). Chapel Street isn't the most
fantastic shopping precinct in this gorgeous old city (if I
see one more fluffy white dog/tiny little patent leather
backpack/straight dollybird with a midriff top and pierced
navel I will SCREAM) but it's certainly glamorous. The
way I see it, you're not really gay until you've pranced
along Chapel Street armed with a credit card and a desire
to consume.

I was talking to a teenage cousin on Christmas Day about
shopping (she was on the other end of my bon-bon). I
asked if she went to Chapel Street and she rolled those
Boronia eyes of hers and sighed, "Oh, that's so gay!"
I nearly choked on my turkey breast; so what does she
think I am? Then I caught her sense; compared to the
fashions around Lilydale Station or Knox City, Chapel
Street is very gay (read; FUNKY).

So I took my recalcitrant little chum shopping along
Chapel Street on New Year's Eve. We wanted pants
(gorgeous, beautiful, come-over-here-and-undo-me
dacks), perhaps a dinky little shirt, and maybe some kind
of frivolous accessory.

After three shops, in which we rejected short-sleeved
towelling shirts, prince of wales check pants, and tiny
little vests with horizontal stripes, Peter was moaning
about having a champagne. I was stern; this was an
Expedition and we would find an outfit for the evening.

So we minced; Calibre, Hound Dog, Morrisey Edmiston,
Balistyx, Mooks. I went into hundreds of dressing rooms,
struggled into thousands of short sleeved tops with
fascinating little stripes. We ended up at Dangerfield. I
took every pair of pants I could lay my hands on into the
change room. They were rejected for ridiculous reasons:
too lime, too many stripes, this would be okay if you had
a 30 in the indigo. But finally we came down to the
ghastly realisation that if you're a GORGEOUSLY slim
thing this season's obsession with straight leg, lo-fat
dacks, is going make you look like a wastrel.

After four hours we forgot it. Champagne and chocolate
cake at the Candy Bar; stuff the hipster flares at
Dangerfield. Bring on next season's collections.
Jeffrey Smart


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Brother Sister is a fortnightly newspaper published in
Melbourne, VIC  and Brisbane,  QLD, Australia. I have
selected the main news stories as well as items of interest.

Overseas media who utilise any or all of the above material
please credit Brother Sister as your source (and by-line if it
is listed). Thank you.

Brendon Wickham