Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 12:31:36 -0500 From: leto@werple.mira.net.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) - Brother Sister News 24/8/95 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue 87 This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point your URL to http://werple.mira.net.au/~leto/news/index - or go through the Pacific Region of the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= MOVE ON CANNABIS HIV USE *The Victorian AIDS Council is considering setting up a campaign to join the push for legalising marijuana.* This development follows the Federal Government earlier this month granting approval for doctors to prescribe the drug Dronabinal to people with AIDS related illness. The drug, a synthetic form of cannabis, is used to help combat chronic nausea and weight loss. It has been widely used by people with AIDS in the United States for the past three years. Dronabinol, a synthetic compound made in a laboratory, is identical in make-up to tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in cannabis. Although now legal in Australia, the drug cannot yet be obtained here. It is also estimated that the drug, when available, will cost a user $240 upwards each month. AIDS Council president, Bradley Engelmann said the benefits of marijuana and Dronabinol to people who are HIV positive were effectively the same. "Given the benefits of marijuana it does seem ludicrous it is not available," he said. "It is inappropriate and unfair that it is not available for people who have a genuine medical need." Engelmann said discussion into legalising marijuana was on the AIDS Council's agenda and policy on the issue would be developed by the Treatments Working Group. According to one HIV positive man who uses marijuana, the drug is currently widely used in the HIV community. "There are a lot of people with AIDS who are simply unable to eat without using marijuana." He recommended that people with PCP (a form of pnuemonia) not smoke marijuana but mix it in cooking. Once it is available, the legalising of Dronabinol is likely to benefit about 1500 people with AIDS. Until now, Dronabinol has been classified as a drug of dependence with no therapeutic benefit. The Federal Government has been reluctant to licence its use because of its relationship to cannabis. Only doctors directly involved in an AIDS patient's care will be able to prescribe the drug and they will have to gain authorisation before prescribing the drug. Also before prescription, the doctor will have to reassess the patient's condition and be satisfied there has been an improvement. Bill Calder GAYS WERE THERE IN WORLD WAR 2 *Queens were the most resourceful personnel in the armed forces, reflected World War II veteran Sidney Aspinall during last week's 50th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific.* Now 74, Aspinall says out of 200 men he served with in New Guinea, about 15 were gay. They had nicknames for each other such as Madame Breeze, Astrid and Dolly, and went to no end of "campy" trouble to brighten up their tents. "We would put floorboards in the tents and polish them and we'd have mauve curtains and floral arrangements. The mere fact that we would have to jump out of bed and shoot someone was neither here nor there. Doc Martens are nothing on the boots we had to wear." Aspinall, who lives in Queensland's Highgate Hill, came from a family of five boys who were all "trotted off to war". "We were brought up with that sense of duty and honour for the Queen because of the British tie. Whether you were gay or not, you still had a sense of moral duty." Aspinall joined the army and later transferred to the air force. He was stationed at various bases around Australia before going to Port Moresby and the Admiralties. "I had been out since I was a schoolboy but I certainly learnt a lot and we had a lot of fun. The brotherhood of man thing was certainly big, but what really irks me is that a lot of people during the war, because of necessity, indulged in homosexual behaviour and they are the people who are now homophobic," says Aspinall, who said he would rather have been home with the knitting needles than bayoneting the Japanese. "I was highly effeminate when I was growing up and loved baking and embroidery and all the campy things," It alarms Aspinall that being gay 50 years on has not become much easier for some young men who end up as suicide statistics. "I met a nice young man recently who has extremely low self esteem. I have been fortunate in that way. When people used to ask how many in the family I used to answer 'four boys and me'." Aspinall says he lost the "best years" of his life fighting the war. "I can't believe it when we're told there were no poofters or dykes in the war. The stories we can tell. And in those days the most we had to worry about (sexually) was the fear of gonorrhoea or a dose of crabs." August 15 was a day for Sidney Aspinall to remember his many friends. "We were there, we communed, we fought, we loved one another amongst the barrages and under the coconut palms of New Guinea and we survived where many did not." SSO UNION TO TARGET AIDS DECLARATION *A public sector superannuation fund covering 168,000 employees faces legal action over a questionnaire which asks if applicants have had anal sex other than in a monogamous relationship, have shared needles, or had sex with a prostitute. The questions are part of an AIDS declaration which has to be signed when applying for additional benefit cover with the NSW State Authorities Superannuation Scheme. The NSW Public Service Association is considering launching a class action against the scheme after hearing complaints about the questionnaire from members who were refused full benefits because of their HIV status. The declaration asks if a person is HIV positive, if they are receiving treatment for HIV, and if they received blood transfusions, artificial insemination or an organ transplant between 1980 and 1085. It also asks about needle use and sexual activity. Applicants are told they may be tested for HIV if they fail to sign the declaration. "There are enormous assumptions in the declaration about monogamy and about anal sex, so much so that the questions are mindless and discriminatory," says the State Public Services Federation assistant branch secretary, Damian Furlong. "It doesn't take account of the Australian experience in managing the AIDS epidemic. Long term HIV positive people who remain asymptomatic have no more reason to be refused death and disability cover than someone who may go on to develop cancer." Dominic O'Grady TASSIE CALL FOR EQUALITY *Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group has called for a Tasmanian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into the legal recognition of same sex relationships.* Spokesperson, Rodney Croome said the issue was being widely debated across the country and requires a serious response from the Tasmanian Government. "As well as comprehensively examining all those areas of state law which discriminate against gay and lesbian couples, a Law Reform Commission Inquiry would also allow ordinary Tasmanians to have their say on this issue," Croome said. Croome also called on the ALP and the Greens to make a pre-election commitment to specific reforms that will ease the burden on same sex couples. "One clear reform would be to grant the spouses of lesbians and gays in the State Public Service the same entitlements and benefits as their heterosexual counterparts." CAMPAIGN HITS 20 *Australia's longest running gay and lesbian glossy, 'Campaign' magazine this month celebrates its 20th anniversary.* Back in the mid 70s when 'Campaign' first hit the stands, Mardi Gras had not yet weaved its way down Oxford Street and Sydney's Golden Mile was only just becoming the gay mecca it is today. Across Australia, gay men could be imprisoned for up to 14 years for consensual sexual acts while they would only receive seven years for rape. Shaun Cassidy was on our turntables, 'No 96' was on our screens and platforms were on our feet. Colour television had just been introduced and Whitlam was about to be dismissed. Current editor Kerry Bashford says, 20 years on, the gay community is beginning to achieve the recognition and rights it deserves. "'Campaign' has been there throughout the trials and victories, the terrible losses and the triumphant gains. "In 1995, the gay community in Australia is bold, vibrant and informed, and 'Campaign' is a reflection of this. We have gone from being an alternative, even subversive street rag to a respected and influential colour glossy. Yet we haven't lost our edge, our capacity to startle and to introduce new ideas, but we have attained the maturity and confidence that 20 years of publishing suggests." SHOCK RISE IN HIV *A shock rise in new HIV diagnoses and infection figures recorded in NSW could indicate a second wave of infection in Australia.* The figures, specifically designed to identify new trends in HIV infection were 22 per cent higher in the first six months of 1995 than in the same period last year. It is the first time the number of new infections has risen since 1993. The sharpest increases were recorded among men aged from 15 to 24, and 35 to 44, and women. AIDS activist and journalist Martyn Goddard said the figures were "proof" a second wave of HIV infection had hit Australia. "If the trend continues we could easily be looking at 1000 cases a year," Goddard said. However other NSW AIDS workers have been wary of interpreting the new figures in such a manner. The NSW Health Department's AIDS and Infectious Diseases Prevention manager, David Fowler stressed the figures remained "relatively low" and AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) executive director, Don Baxter also reacted warily to the report, declining to say whether the figures represented an alarming new trend or just a temporary rise. The figures show 256 new diagnoses in the first half of 1995 compared with 202 in the last half of 1994 and 233 in the first half of 1994. Fowler said diagnoses and infections are consistently higher in the first six months of the year than the second. Among 15 to 24-year-olds, rates went from 30 in the first six months of 1994 to 20 in the last six months, and then up to 37 between January and June this year. New diagnoses in men aged 35 to 44 increased from 39 to 62, while 26 women were newly diagnosed with HIV from January to June this year compared with 14 in the same period last year, a rise of more than 85 per cent. The Queensland AIDS Council (QuAC) education manager, Jeffrey Sheather said Queensland's figures for the first half of this year did not mirror the NSW result. "If we look at the Queensland figures they're much lower than in previous years, something like 80 new cases. "On previous years, the figure is certainly down considerably," Sheather said. He said while Sydney remained the epicentre of the epidemic, the percentage figures for NSW were misleadingly high whilst the actual numbers remained low. "A lot of people are saying it has levelled off basically, but with a few ups and downs," Sheather said. INTERNET MAGAZINE PLAN Australia's first queer magazine on the internet is planned to be up and running by November. Queer New creators, Sheril Berkovitch and Colin Hones have produced lesbian and gay radio at 3CR and until recently Berkovitch edited Melbourne's lesbian magazine 'Lesbiana'. Queer News aims to cover local, national and international news. E-mail contact is sheril@ozemail.com.au. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= BOTTOM LINE It won't get reported in mainstream press but it's nice to know that queer Australian performers are still making waves overseas. Club Swing are a local, all-girl trapeze act, and their show, "Appetite", is on at the current Edinburgh festival. If you thought Maude Davie (she of Melbourne's Ms Wicked fame) could do interesting things with strawberries, you should see these women. It's a high-wire, erotic, dyke food-sex fest and guaranteed to get anyone's pulse racing (and we don't just mean from the trapeze stunts). It looks like Club Swing are to become recipients of a new prize at Edinburgh. The "Moira" is to be awarded to the most outrageous show - not an easy one to pick up at this particular event. It's named after a notorious Conservative councillor, Moira Knox, who often blathers attacks on acts she regards as obscene, blasphemous or immoral. This year she's dubbed Club Swing a "dirty minded disgrace". Needless to say, the girls have used it on their publicity posters - and the crowds are rolling in! Brendon Wickham =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= 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