Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 17:25:17 +1000 From: leto@rabbit.com.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 23/1/97 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue #124 - 23/1/97 Including: 1. Archives secret deal causes split 2. Committee attacks back 3. Suicide talks in Sydney 4. Health funds cut in QLD 5. Commission records complaints 6. Briefs including : Quilt postponed, Swtichboard support, Anti-rascist group formed, Film ban, Dyke help wanted, Spreading JOY 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/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARCHIVES SECRET DEAL CAUSES SPLIT *The Chairperson of The ALSO Foundation, Danny Vadasz, has told the Australian Gay and Lesbian Archives that his organisation's board was unaware of negotiations entered into for the group to have tenancy in their building. * Documented negotiations, instigated by ALSO's Executive Officer Darren Ray, made promises of space within the ALSO headquarters for the Archives. Although not a current tenant, the Archives had been involved in negotiations with ALSO's Executive Officer since late February, 1996. These negotiations were put in writing committing ALSO to provide space for the Archives within an ALSO-owned community centre planned to be operational by early 1997. However, Graham Carbery, Secretary and founder of the Archives, said Vadasz had this week indicated he was unaware of ALSO's promises to the group. The issues surrounding the Archives deal are expected to be hotly debated at an ALSO Board meeting being held tonight. Other special items on the agenda include further discussion of ALSO's decision to evict current tenants, including the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. Carbery says that on December 31, 1996, "as a result of the item in BrotherSister, we contacted ALSO and we've asked for an urgent meeting with the full Board of ALSO-and we're awaiting a reply to that request". However, since requesting a meeting with the full board, Carbery revealed that "the Chairperson of ALSO has contacted us, having received our letter, and indicated that he was not aware of the undertakings that ALSO had given". Adding to existing concerns about consultation and communication, he added: "it would appear that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing". In response to the controversy that surrounds the eviction of other community groups from the ALSO building, Darren Ray says in a press release: "At its January Board meeting tonight, ALSO will consider an internal information paper concerning the history and future of a gay and lesbian resource centre...[a] decision about releasing a version of this information paper for public comment will also be made at this meeting." The move away from a community centre has both short and long term implications for each of the groups to be evicted-Melbourne Queer Film & Video Festival, Bent TV, the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives and Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. In the short term, groups claim that resources are being diverted from key activities to deal with negotiations and looming accommodation crises, while in the long term (six months) questions are being raised about the ability of the groups to endure the loss of administrative facilities and meet the costs of commercial rents. Liz Baulch, President of Bent TV, simply stated that "the subsidised accommodation at ALSO was perfect because it was affordable". Baulch told BrotherSister : "The timing has been absolutely shocking for Bent TV...we're facing an accommodation crisis at the same time as we've lost our post-production facilities. Consequently, Bent TV...will not be going to air with new material; it will be a repeat season." Baulch emphasises the difficulty of the current situation: "[Commercial rent] means making more money and obviously we're not in a position to make anything at the moment...we can't produce to make the money we need to actually get ourselves accommodation." "It's making it really difficult for us to get back on air because we're having to spend a lot of time negotiating accommodation and looking for accommodation...it certainly detracts from the time that we have to put into production and finding facilities that we can use." While Bent TV are actively seeking alternative accommodation, Baulch admitted that "we haven't got anything concrete". A verbal offer by ALSO to assist with negotiations for accommodation has, according to Baulch, failed to materialise. She adds: "It's hard enough producing television as it is without all these extraneous things going on." Suzie Goodman, President of Melbourne Queer Film & Video Festival, told BrotherSister that "we are still waiting for our eviction notice in writing. We feel that given the uncertainty around the issue, it's important that we have everything in writing and we're still waiting for that". Goodman offered that, in the meantime, "we're also reasonably optimistic because it seems that there is now some concern at Board level about the decisions they made and...we could have some re-consideration which might take the form of some further review. Let's face it, the original report seems flawed in part and, therefore, the assumption that there's heavy demand should be...proved. So we would like to see more work there and we hope that the Board will follow that line". Robyn Walsh, Co-convenor of Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, told BrotherSister that "Switchboard is currently in discussions with the ALSO Board regarding its tenancy, and we are putting a submission to the Board meeting this week seeking to be exempted from the decision to evict all tenants". The possibility of an exemption for Switchboard prompted the following question from Goodman: "Is ALSO then going to start, having made one policy, backtracking on it (that there be no tenures), or being selective about it?" However, in the media release issued by Ray, there was no indication that an exemption had been considered in relation to any of the groups. Ray told BrotherSister, "ALSO's Treasurer and I have been having discussions with these groups [Bent TV, Queer Film and Switchboard] about locating suitable premises for them within a six month time frame. We have also invited all three groups to advise us of how they would continue to utilise resources within the new model." Jodie Joyce COMMITTEE ATTACKS BACK *A public meeting at the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) on January 20 saw the establishment of an Anti-Violence Project in Victoria.* A strong attendance and much discussion resulted in the formation of a committee of five men and five women to tackle hate-related and domestic violence within and against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities. Clare Beckwith, President of Midsumma, addressed the meeting. Remarking that the project was "well overdue", Beckwith declared that "we've got to start with educating both our own community and the mainstream community to the extent that any violence of any sort, physical or mental, is not on. We will not stand for it". Emphasising the need for an inclusive approach, Beckwith observed that "when we talk about violence in the gay and lesbian community it often just focuses on gay men and around beat use, but there's a lot of stuff that happens around lesbians and I think we've got to remember this: that it's just not gay men out there, it's lesbians who receive lots of violence. We receive it on many fronts as lesbians. We receive it as women, as objects of desire on the street, but then as being dykes- double-fold, two-fold violence". Beckwith pressed the need for a sense of personal and collective responsibility-"making sure that we look after each other and providing safe space to do it"-as well as the need for a responsible approach to the issues of violence by, for example, the police. She identified "a fear that we have about the system that's there that's meant to be protecting us". Commenting on the high level of safety enjoyed at Melbourne's venues, Beckwith suggested that, although desirable, it "leads to a certain amount of complacency". Beckwith reflected on her own position in the community: "If you work and live within this community you actually forget how much fear and hatred is out there." Pauline Hanson, suggested Beckwith, is a symptom of "the new conservatism that's hitting Australia" and is a timely reminder of the hatred that exists. "People like Pauline Hanson et al are doing a wonderful job of marginalising minorities yet again...in the next few years we're going to have a struggle that we haven't seen for a long time," said Beckwith. Following Beckwith's address, Joseph O'Reilly, President of VAC and Executive Director Civil Liberties Council, suggested that violent acts within and against the queer community are one manifestation of the devaluing of diversity and difference. Canvassing the exclusionary practices of the media, the violence perpetrated by institutions, and the lack of political will to address hatred, O'Reilly offered that "the John Howards...through their silence are the grounds under which and over which the people like Pauline Hanson grow. It's only the silence of our political leaders which gives rise to that devaluing of difference". Although an Anti-Violence project immediately focuses attention on violence perpetrated against the community, O'Reilly also recognised that "violence can occur in our own community, can occur not because of sexuality but because of race or because of class". "I think the AVP...could usefully help us turn our minds to the other things which give rise to [violence], the other things which allow it to exist. It might also...help us to understand and explore the commonalities that we have with other minorities in our community who also have physical violence and other forms of violence perpetrated on them because they're legitimate targets...because of their difference." During subsequent discussion, facilitated by Greg Adkins, VAC Beats Education Officer, various forms of violence were noted. These included beat, street and domestic violence, as well as institutionalised violence in schools, workplaces, and psychiatric facilities. Suicide and other forms of self-directed violence were also discussed. Those assembled exhibited a commitment to being as inclusive as possible. It was recognised that the form violence takes, and the context in which it occurs, may be more or less typical for particular sections of the community and that this necessarily influences the strategies for dealing with violence and responding adequately to the needs of those who survive and witness violence. The various, but overlapping, needs of the four named groups were acknowledged, along with the needs of those in rural areas. It is hoped that the Anti-Violence Project will encourage reporting, facilitate documentation, provide referral and support, offer advocacy and influence public policy. Beckwith claimed that "to initiate this project is being proactive rather than reactive...we have a critical role in it and we must take responsibility and make changes that will count." Jodie Joyce SUICIDE TALKS IN SYDNEY *Dr Gary Remafedi, an internationally renowned US researcher on suicide in gay and lesbian youth, will address a national forum on the issue in Sydney at the end of February.* Remafedi, from the University of Minnesota, is internationally respected for his work in advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and highlighting the high prevalence of suicide in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. He was editor of a book on the subject, Death by Denial. The national forum, titled "In Our Hands: a national forum on suicidal and self harming behaviour in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth", aims to develop a mental health promotion strategy for queer youth and a coordinated national research agenda. Kevin Hague, a public health specialist from New Zealand will also address the forum on issues of researching the prevalence of suicide in queer youth. "In the last two years, there has been a lot more attention given to suicide in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. This forum provides an opportunity for those in these communities to come together to discuss this issue and to develop some strategies for the future," said forum organiser Barry Taylor. Taylor has been working in the youth suicide field for ten years and is a member of the federal Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Group. He believes that the lack of data on queer youth suicide and dominant heterosexual assumptions in mainstream psychiatry and in the suicide research field has maintained the invisibility of youth suicide in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. "Once again, it is up to us in our respective communities to keep putting the issue of suicide amongst gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth on the suicide agenda. That is why the forum is called 'In Our Hands'," Taylor said. "Here is a great opportunity to hear from the experience of those in other countries and to develop mental health promotion and research strategies for here in Australia." United States' research has indicated that up to a third of teenage suicides are related to concerns of sexual orientation. The forum will be held at the Sydney YWCA Conference Centre on February 27 and 28. Those wishing to obtain more information or register for the forum can contact Barry Taylor, PO Box 519, Richmond, Vic. 3121, Ph/Fax (03) 9241 0580, Email: barryt@werple.net.au Stephen Scott HEALTH FUNDS CUT IN QLD *The Queensland Health Minister has called for a ban on resourcing gay and lesbian health projects.* A memorandum has been sent to all Queensland Health services and branches stating that Health Minister Mike Horan has declared that government resources and funds are not to be used in any way that is contradictory to the National/Liberal Government's views, effectively prohibiting any Queensland Health resources from targetting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The memorandum from the Director-General of Queensland Health, Dr Robert Stable said: "The Honourable the Minister has directed that Queensland Health staff and facilities, and funds provided by Health, are only to be used for clinical services and disease prevention/health promotion type activities. Specifically they are not to be used for activities or publications which promote a lifestyle or behaviour which is not in accordance with his Governments' philosophies or policies. "Recent examples where the Minister has taken a firm line have been sexually explicit publications distributed by The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland and the Queensland AIDS Council. These publications are not to be purchased by Queensland Health or to be displayed at any Queensland Health facility." The Ethnic Communities Council's Calendar promoting sexual health and the availability of sexual health services to indigenous and ethnic communities was launched during AIDS Awareness Week last year. Ten minutes before he was due to launch it, Horan refused and subsequently banned its distribution. The Queensland AIDS Council raised the Minister's ire recently when it introduced the VAC'sDo Choose Enjoy campaign which consisted of two information booklets educating gay men about the risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmissible diseases (STDs) as well as the importance of safe sexual practices. Declaring that these resources "promoted homosexuality" and that "we need to turn the clock back on some of these issues", the Minister banned the campaign, advising gay men instead to "wake up to themselves". The memorandum essentially prevents Queensland Health's youth, sexual and community health centres from distributing any information about homosexuality including STDs and HIV prevention resources which mention the subject, gay or lesbian material presented in a suicide prevention, self-esteem or mental health context or any other educational resources designed for gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transgender people. It also means that any staff currently working on any projects specific to the needs of the queer community must cease such projects immediately and that no projects like this will ever be funded by the State government. The memorandum causes significant problems for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities beyond the inner city areas of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, where very few if any outlets for such resources other than community health centres exist. Even posters containing images or information about homosexuality or lesbianism must be taken down and copies of BrotherSister can no longer be distributed through these centres. Queensland Association for Gay and Lesbian Rights spokesperson Michael Carden described the ban as "not surprising but nonetheless disgraceful and tragically sad" and evidence that Mr Horan is "a homophobic AIDS criminal of the first order". "The Minister obviously has a very narrow and highly ignorant conception of health promotion," he said. "Community health is about empowering people to make their own decisions and take their health into their own hands by equipping them with the information and service they require; it's not about bigotted moral judgements from a Minister who's only interested in maintaining his own perceptions of married, heterosexual, nuclear family health. Community health centres are supposed to be there for all the community. They are not a site for an uninformed politician to push a divisive and exclusionary agenda at the expense of people's wellbeing. This exercise in ignorance shows that the Minister doesn't understand his own portfolio. "This will result in the increased spread of HIV and will keep people isolated, especially gays and lesbians in regional areas," he continued. "The effects of such isolation can be psychologically very destructive on individuals and can often be manifest in physical ways like suicidal behaviour and unsafe sexual practices, so we are faced with the ridiculous situation where the Health Minister is actively compromising the health of entire communities and restricting the ability of already marginalised groups to protect their own health." Carden was highly critical of the vagueness of the memorandum as well. "Just who is formulating the Government's philosophies?" he asked. "If it's Mike Horan, can we assume that his conservative Catholic mores dictate that community health centres must not distribute information about abortion, contraception or drug and alcohol use? Or is this just a disguised attack solely on the gay and lesbian community where he was just too frightened to mention us by name, instead choosing to make ambiguous motions about lifestyles and behaviour he doesn't agree with?" Stephen Scott COMMISSION RECORDS COMPLAINTS *Victorians have responded strongly to changes introduced by the Equal Opportunity Commission that aimed protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.* An act passed by the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission in 1995 allowed people to make complaints concerning sexuality for the first time. Results for the first year, from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1996 showed that of the total 1821 complaints lodged, 99 (5%) concerned sexuality issues, with 16 of these complaints made by women and 83 made by men. Under the category of lawful sexual activity, men lodged 33 complaints of discrimination on the basis of perceived homosexuality and women lodged 13. Under the category personal association, men lodged 12 complaints on the basis of discrimination because personal associates were perceived to be homosexual, HIV positive or living with AIDS; 3 women made such complaints. Under the carer status category, men lodged 2 complaints resulting from issues related to caring for partners that are HIV-positive or living with AIDS. And under the category of sexual harassment, men lodged a total of 36 complaints; the majority dealt with men being sexually harassed by other men or men being abused or treated unfairly because they were perceived as gay even though they were heterosexual. Two complaints from men and one from a woman were also made concerning accommodation issues that related to sexual orientation. BRIEFS Quilt postponed The Quilt Project has announced that the next Candlelight Vigil and Quilt Display will not be held until November 1997. Dates have not been set at this stage but will be announced within the next month. The change of time is due to the lack of people attending over the past two years and the cost involved of staging such an event. Switchboard support Telstra's renewed commitment to the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard makes the company the exclusive principal sponsor for the community-based telephone counselling, referral and information service. Telstra's sponsorship will help meet the costs of Switchboard's free call service, now available throughout Victoria. Anti-racist group formed The new political group Gays and Lesbians Against Racism was recently launched in Melbourne. Group convenor Tony Butler expressed no surprise that a pro- social justice movement opposed to racism should emerge from within the gay and lesbian community, citing the discrimination endured by millions in the Holocaust, in which many gays and lesbians perished, as an example of a source of racism that was common to many minorities. Film ban Hustler White, a comedy which explores LA's male hustler scene that contains many raunchy sexual encounters and situations, but is not a hard-core film, according to its producers, Potential Films. However, the Office of Film and Literature Classification has rejected the company's application for release on the grounds that several scenes contravene its guidelines. The film has been screened uncut in New Zealand, the US and Europe and was due for release at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema today. Potential Films has announced that it intends to fight the decision. Dyke help wanted The Coalition of Activist Lesbians Australia has commissioned preparation of working papers about various issues affecting lesbians. Information about lesbian-specific health issues, access to the health system and homophobia or discrimination in the health system is welcome from any lesbian who is willing to write about any aspect of health care and their experiences. Write to the COAL Health Project, PO Box 1625, Lismore NSW 2480. Spreading JOY JOY Melbourne has commenced its month-long broadcast for the duration of the Midsumma Fesitval. After relocating its transmitter to Melbourne Central, JOY Melbourne has received calls from listeners as far away as Geelong and Dandenong. JOY will be covering all Midsumma events, as well as up-to-date information and music. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE Smartarse by Jeffrey Smart VOLUNTEER FOR SUMMA One night in the dead of a Melbourne winter the tram I was catching home pulled to a shuddering, squealing stop outside a darkened office block. The doors whined open and a gust of frigid, arctic wind blew three Twisties packets, a dead leaf and one of Melbourne's premier drag artistes (sans frock) into the tram. The frostbitten creature clambering aboard had just knocked off after a loveless and bewilderingly taxing day helping to organise Midsumma. As this pathetically overworked figure lowered herself, bones creaking, into a seat next to me she began to outline a terrifying timetable of preparations. Summer was still months away, the tram was ploughing through a snow drift and Port Philip Bay had frozen over, but it seemed that Melbourne's favourite gay festival could never be ready in time. A teasingly sexy whiff of suntan oil (sorry, sunblock) wafted through the tram as she explained what remained to be done. Volunteers to coordinate, venues to hire, contractors to contract and street parties to negotiate. I am pleased to say that I caught sight of this same selfless handmaiden to the gay community at the Brunswick Street Party, fully thawed and vigorously wielding a mobile phone. She may not be paid for her work but she seems to love it. And what a street party! Crowds, fashions, sweat, kiddies, rides and beer. Glamour, friends, potential roots glimpsed across a sea of sequins and beehives. There are still three major weekend events to go, and countless exhibitions, performances, meetings and screenings in between. If it weren't for a dedicated troop of exhausted volunteers none of it would happen. A couple of days ago I was languishing by a Glen Iris (!) swimming pool in searing, moisture sucking heat, desperately trying to look as gorgeous as possible. Even here Midsumma volunteers floated stoically in the water. A Red Raw dancer told me about his punishing rehearsal schedule in the lead-up to the big party. Volunteers make this community go round. The vast majority of the people working in any capacity for Midsumma are not paid; they toil for endless hours every year, dedicating themselves to our insistent demands for a good time. The Midsumma team have managed to attract some major corporate sponsors to bankroll the event. Two telecommunications companies have slugged it out in the Midsumma program, vying for our hearts and minds and begging us to let our fingers walk all over their company. Judith Griggs, CEO of the Grand Prix, must be livid that with so few salaried workers we can still attract huge crowds and corporate dollars, when she has to spend millions and face community protest just to get a few cars together for a long weekend. Spare a thought for the volunteers as you pump and grind your way through our glamorous festival. They are, without exception, a divine and gorgeous bunch. If you meet one, give him or her a little kiss. And find out what the Hot Kabuki Pussy thingo is; I'm not sure I like the sound of that! [You can find out at the Candy Bar Sunday night-ed.] Jeffrey Smart =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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