Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 14:06:37 +1000 From: leto@werple.mira.net.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 14/7/95 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point your URL to http://werple.mira.net.au/~leto/news/index =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ MARDI GRAS SHUTS DOOR INTERSTATE *Sydney Mardi Gras is considering a proposal which would restrict membership in the organisation to gay men and lesbians living in Sydney.* Under the plan only members and their guests would have access to dance party tickets at both Mardi Gras and Sleaze. The proposal is based on an options paper commissioned earlier this year by the Mardi Gras Board. The Board has recommended its adoption and on Saturday will put the idea before a forum at its Annual General Meeting of members. For five years Mardi Gras has been besieged over its ticketing policy. In 1991 there was an outcry over the heterosexual presence and offensive behaviour (including a stabbing) at Sleaze. Following this, Mardi Gras first introduced the concept of members only ticketing. But the problems have not gone away with renewed concerns being aired this year over the behaviour of some heterosexual participants at parties. In a letter sent this week to members, the Board outlined details of the proposal: "The (options) paper argued that if you are going to have a more restrictive basis of membership, then the simplest way is for members of Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras to be gay men and lesbians of Sydney. "And to prevent people lying about their identity the members should be prepared, if need be, to be publicly identified as lesbian and gay." Under the plan members would be responsible for "choosing their guests wisely" and be required to attend an information forum each year. "The paper argued that commitment to learning about what Mardi Gras stands for should be part of members' responsibility," the Board's letter said. Mardi Gras president, Rob Patmore told Brother Sister it was not Mardi Gras' intention to exclude interstate people from its dance parties. "The starting point in this discussion is: Who owns the Mardi Gras organisation?" he said. "It is based in Sydney. It is the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. The organisation is Sydney based which is why we currently have full members and associate members," Patmore said. He conceded that the options paper had not addressed the question of ticketing for interstate or international visitors, but was confident this could be resolved. "The whole issue of Mardi Gras and ticketing is very complex. There are no simple answers, but we have to ensure the parties are accessible for people from interstate and overseas," Patmore said. "Perhaps we continue with the associate membership, but that will be debated at the second stage. However you can take it as a given that we want interstate visitors coming to the party," he said. In Melbourne, dance parties are held three times a year by the ALSO Foundation. That organisation's chief executive officer, Darren Ray, this week slammed the Mardi Gras ticketing plan. "The current proposal totally overlooks interstate interests and cuts the ground under Mardi Gras' claim to be New South Wales greatest tourism income earner." He said the plan, being sanctions based, was a public relations nightmare and there was a very real possibility of a backlash against Mardi Gras. "If the proposals get up, I believe hundreds of people from Melbourne will not go to Mardi Gras next year and hundreds of international people will boycott Mardi Gras in preference for Melbourne's Red Raw and Midsumma Festival." Bill Calder MILITARY FIGHTS HIV RULING *The list of people Defence Minister Rob Ray wants to keep out of the Australian Defence Force reads like a body fascist's classified: no fats, no skinny, no asthmatics or diabetics, nobody with Hepatitis B or C, and certainly nobody with HIV.* Senator Ray last week said all of the above should be specifically excluded from the ADF, and he'll try and legislate to make sure of it. The senator's comments were in response to what's being billed as a "landmark" Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ruling last week which found the army had acted unlawfully in dismissing a HIV positive new recruit. HREOC found the ADF in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act. The finding is the first time a person with HIV has successfully sued an employer under this Act, and it augurs well for a similar case pending in NSW. The ADF plans to appeal against the decision before the Federal Court. The ADF has resisted change to its HIV exclusion policies for some time. Meetings last year between the Defence Minister and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations lead nowhere, principally because the ADF is convinced that people with HIV can't meet the essential requirements of the job, which it says includes deployment in the field. AFAO and HREOC's response is that a person with HIV who is fit and healthy can be employed, and that it is up to the Defence Force to develop appropriate policies which allow a HIV positive person to be in the force without necessarily being deployed in the field. "We welcome the HREOC ruling," said AFAO president Bill O'Loughlin. "As far as we're concerned, the battle to ensure fair employment policy at the ADF continues." The HREOC ruling co-incides with moves in the US to overturn the US military's policy on HIV. A Republican congressman, Robert Dornan, is pushing legislation which seeks to dismiss HIV positive soldiers from the US army. At present, the US has more than 1100 HIV positive soldiers on active duty but banned from combat roles. Australia had at least 46 HIV positive people in the defence force between 1988 and 1994; many of these have since been discharged. Current ADF policy requires all new recruits to be tested for HIV and rejected if they test positive. Existing personnel who are HIV positive and who develop category three of four AIDS-related illness are expelled; those with category two illness are subject to individual assessment by a "formal medical board". Complaints lodged with HREOC by HIV positive personnel who remain in the ADF allege discrimination against them in training, access to transfers, promotions and other service benefits. Dominic O'Grady GAY ISSUES RATE LOW IN QLD POLL *Replies to a "Vote Pride 95" questionnaire sent to political parties revealed little understanding of the issues important to the gay community.* The questionnaire was sent to the major parties and each sitting politician vying for power in tomorrow's state election. Vote Pride 95 Co-convenor, Jeff Sommerfeld said the responses showed the disparity between political parties in regard to issues affecting the gay and lesbian communities. "The Greens have a written policy on gay and lesbian issues; the Australian Democrats have indicated they are about to release a written draft policy; the ALP have indicated they believe they have covered gay and lesbian issues adequately in their general policy documents; and the National Liberal Coalition have said they will not respond to the written questionnaire, nor have they been prepared to show any documents that indicate they are prepared to accept gay and lesbian issues," Sommerfeld said. "The refusal of the coalition to respond to the questionnaire placed question marks against their suitability for government and their relative maturity. "Anyone interpreting the survey would have to say they haven't come of age and anyone deciding preferences should take that into account," Sommerfeld said. Mick Veivers, the National/Liberal Coalition member for Southport, has been the most outspoken of all politicians during the election campaign. Coalition leaders have distanced themselves from comments made by Mr Veivers. His latest move has been to distribute homophobic pamphlets to Southport residents. Sommerfeld added that while the Labor Party and Australian Democrats showed a positive understanding of gay issues, they were still ignorant of broader forms of discrimination affecting gays. "They think with decriminalisation, everything is okay and everyone is happy," he said. "However, we were impressed by ALP secretary, Mike Kaiser asking Green candidate, Drew Hutton how he could give preferences to an anti-gay coalition. "We have to credit the ALP as they haven't been gun-shy of the issues, although individual members seem to need some education in some areas," Sommerfeld said. The survey has influenced the official flow of preferences away from outspokenly homophobic candidates in at least two electorates. Issues canvassed by the questionnaire had been compiled from a survey carried out earlier this year by the New South Wales Coalition of Activist Lesbians. Iain Clacher POLICE SLAMMED IN BOOKSHOP RAID *Victorian police have been accused of "political censorship" following the seizure last week of material on sexual politics from a bookshop in Brunswick.* On Monday afternoon July 3, five police officers from Brunswick CIB raided Barricade Books in Sydney Road. Three items of stock were taken by the police: a pamphlet on the gay relationship of Russian anarchists Necheyev and Bakunin; and two t-shirts, one with the words "Jesus is Cumming" and the other with "Fuck the World Police" written on it. Barricade Books is a speciality bookshop with a wide range of literature on politics, history and social issues. It is run by an anarchist collective. Spokesperson for Friends of Barricade Books, Colin McNaughton described the police action as "blatant censorship and an attack on all non-mainstream sexual groups attempt at expression". "This is another example of the Victorian Police's disregard for basic civil liberties. These acts are inexcusable and should be publicly scrutinised." McNaughton also accused the police of entering the living quarters behind the bookshop and pointing loaded firearms at the occupants. He said the collective was seeking advice from Fitzroy Legal Service on what options were available for legal address. An officer involved in the raid told Brother Sister that no charges had yet been laid against the bookshop. He denied that loaded guns had been pointed at any of the occupants. The officer said that in addition to the literature seized a small amount of cannabis had been found. He said he expected that drug related charges would be laid. CALL FOR GAY IMAGES ON TV *The ABC's obligation to reflect the cultural diversity of Australia is in jeopardy unless it makes a commitment to represent the variety of relationships and sexualities found in the community, according to a member of the ABC's National Advisory Council, Joseph O'Reilly.* In a personal submission to a review of ABC Editorial Policies, O'Reilly called for a commitment on the part of the ABC to strive towards an 'equitable representation of sexuality outside the dominant heterosexual norm'. "The ABC has a responsibility to ensure that in its broadcasts it reflects the entire Australian community. Editorial commitments already exist which promote the representation of women, non-English speaking and indigenous Australians. "The very same commitment should be made in the Corporation's Editorial Policies to representations of lesbians, gay men and same sex relationships in drama, information, and current affairs, both on television and radio. "As the independent national broadcaster the ABC has a very real opportunity to address the exclusion of gay and lesbian sexuality and relationships from the media. "The recent loss of a gay character from the popular ABC drama GP illustrates the need to establish a firm commitment in editorial guidelines that the experiences of gay and lesbian Australians will be represented by our national broadcaster. "The ABC has lead the way in its consideration of sexuality, same sex relationships and gay and lesbian culture. This leadership should now be strengthened by an explicit commitment in its editorial policies. "Only a policy commitment and strategy will satisfactorily address the systematic neglect of gay men and lesbians and their experiences from the media. Relying on the good will of producers and program makers is not sufficient. "A commitment to the ABC's Charter requires a comprehensive approach to cultural diversity including the recognition that how we view sexuality forms a vital part of who we are as a nation," concluded O'Reilly. The issue will be considered at a meeting of the ABC National Advisory Council next week in Brisbane. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE - Short Shrift - One of Aussie Rule's sacred and unique features is the very short, very tight footy nicks worn by the players. Talk in the pre-season of a possible change was seen by many as an outrage. Personally, I'd get rid of the nicks. Then, if my blueprint for totally nude footy (TNFL) was once again rejected by the stuffy AFL administration, I'd bring in the looser fitting, medium-high cut, running short. Contrary to popular belief I think this would increase the sexiness of the lads and the game they play. The traditionally tight footy nick is, aesthetically, a disappointment. The theory goes, 'Ooh, aren't the boys sexy running around in their tight little shorts.' But a closer look doesn't bear this out. Sure, a lad's package is often proudly on display, but the cut of the short turns this Classic Greek centrepiece into an amorphous lumpiness, resembling nothing so much as a bag of squashed kiwi fruit. And the butt! A footballer's butt is one of the game's finest physical achievements - and it gets stuffed into those wretched little shorts like one too many pillows in a slip. Let the butt breathe! Give it space to move around and express itself in harmony with the rest of the athlete's body. Another point in favour of a change is the 'accidental' pantsing phenomenom (APP). Tacking has gone through a renaissance in recent years and has now become a ferocious weapon of attack. This has resulted in an increased number of desperate late lunges that catch and drag down a fleeing opponent's shorts. In a game recently, Jayson Daniels was tackled in just such a fashion and in the aftermath his bare white arse landed fair in Wayne Campbell's face. It's good for the game. Imagine how common this scenario will be when they play with great swatches of loose cotton downstairs, flapping irresistibly in the breeze. Footballers themselves are agitating for a change of pants, although they run mainly with a rather boring medical argument. Fair enough, you can't realistically expect Wayne Carey to stand up and cry, 'These footy nicks are squeezing all the joie de vivre out of my arse!' Instead the lads are voicing their concern that tight shorts can make a man infertile. At first I was rather flippant and indifferent to their plight. Sperm count has never been too high on my list of things to worry about. But then I had a terrible vision: a vast legion of footballers spilling their barren seed on a cold and grassless football field. Old men and women turning over decaying benches in search of a little footballing sprog. But no, the only football being played is a 'friendly' between rival public service departments. Oh the horror! Please, for every conceivable reason, change your shorts, boys. Victor Little *** 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