Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 18:03:41 -0500
From: leto@werple.mira.net.au (Brendon Wickham)
Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 7/9/95

BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER

Issue 88

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/


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GLAD MAY FOLD

*Gay activism in Victoria is on the verge of a dramatic refocussing of
priorities following weeks of internal bickering within the main lobbying
group, Gay Men and Lesbians Against Discrimination (GLAD).*

Many insiders believe the organisation will fold and be replaced by a new
lobby group, with a broader charter. Crunch time could come as soon as this
Monday during GLAD's regular monthly meeting.

The pressure on GLAD comes from two directions: The group was formed five
years ago with the goal of achieving anti-discrimination law reform. That
job, in part, has been achieved with the recent rewriting of the Equal
Opportunities Act which saw some protection offered to lesbians and gay
men.

The second pressure on the viability of the group stems from the recent
formal establishment of the Australian Council for Lesbian and Gay Rights -
a national body made up of individual state members pushing for a broad
human rights agenda in the lesbian and gay communities.

Last month four individual Victorians were elected to the Council at a
public meeting. Until then there had been no Victorian representatives on
the Council, as no organisation in the state considered it its charter to
lobby on the broad range of issues.

Newly elected Victorian member to the Council, Dr Jim Hyde will propose at
the GLAD meeting on Monday that a new organisation be formed to replace
GLAD.
Under his proposal, the new organisation would be established to lobby
politicians and other organisations for full equality in human rights for
gay men and lesbians. It would act as the Victorian Branch of the national
council.

"For some time there has been a debate in the community about the future of
GLAD and its role in advancing the human rights of gay men and lesbians,"
he said.

"A degree of dissatisfaction has arisen with its modus operandi and the
level of support for the organisation has fallen away. At the same time,
wider human rights issues have gained more attention and demands for rights
beyond anti-discrimination protection for gay men and lesbians have
increased."

Hyde points out that most other states now have human rights organisations
based in the lesbian and gay communities.

"For instance, the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, the Tasmanian Gay and
Lesbian Rights Lobby and the South Australian Lesbian and Gay Community
Action have been in existence for a number of years," he said. "These have
recently been joined by other groups in NSW, Queensland and Western
Australia."

"What I'm proposing is to move the debate on human rights for lesbians and
gay men in Victoria past the difficulties which have arisen recently and
the proposal is a suggestion only to achieve a viable lesbian and gay
presence in human rights debates."

Hyde said the aim of his proposal is to achieve this from a strong
community base.
The structure he proposes is for a two tiered organisation with individual
members and organisational members playing distinct roles.

Individual membership would be based on identification with the gay and
lesbian communities and agreement with the aims of the organisation.
Organisational members would be those organisations registered as members
of the Australian Council for Lesbian and Gay Rights and would participate
in quarterly community forums. Membership fees would be nominal to provide
basic administrative working
funds.

Hyde proposes that any financial assets held by GLAD be transferred to the
new organisation and members of GLAD receive the first year membership
without payment of the membership fee.

Suggested names for the new organisation include the Victorian Gay and
Lesbian Rights Lobby.

Bill Calder


GAY SUICIDE PACT: JUDGE URGES COMPASSION

*A gay man who survived a mutual suicide pact with his lover but was later
charged over the incident was told by a Sydney judge last week that he had
been sufficiently punished and should not face further court action.*

Charges of aiding and abetting an attempted suicide were laid against
Steven Peterson after he told police last year of a suicide pact between
himself and his lover, Donald Stratton.

Peterson and Stratton had been suffering from depression, partly related to
Peterson's belief that he was HIV positive. The couple decided to hang
themselves after listening to the final aria of the opera Madame Butterfly.

The two made nooses from a torn bedsheet which they tied to a towel rack in
their Clovelly flat and Peterson then wrote a suicide note which read: "It
may be our last words, goodbye from both of us. We want to be cremated."

The men proceeded with their pact and were hanging for a short time.
Stratton lost consciousness. The still-conscious Peterson changed his mind
about the pact and released Stratton from the noose.

"I didn't want him to die so I got him down," Peterson said in a videotaped
interview with police.
Stratton was taken to hospital where he later recovered.

After being questioned by police, Peterson was arrested and charged and
then spent a short time in Long Bay jail.

The matter finally came before the courts last week, but a jury of eight
women and four men was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after six hours
of deliberations.

On the second day of the trial, Peterson told the Sydney Star Observer he
couldn't believe how long the jury was taking to make a decision.

He said he didn't believe he was guilty of the charge and had unnecessarily
spent time in jail. The two also
said they felt victimised by the police investigation.

Judge William Ducker dismissed the jury, then delivered a series of
extraordinary statements relating to the matter. Peterson, who represented
himself in court, was in tears after the judge delivered his comments.

The judge acknowledged "a deep attachment" between the two men and their
"intense relationship of mutual affection and dependence". He also accepted
that Peterson's HIV positive status had influenced the couple's actions.

Judge Ducker said the jury's inability to reach a unanimous decision
probably reflected concerns about whether or not there ought to have been a
prosecution in the first place.

"In my opinion there is good reason for the charge of aiding and abetting
suicide to remain on the statute books because there may well be times when
a person has an ulterior motive, but it seems to me that this particular
case is a matter where the discretion of the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) is of paramount importance, and I ask that my remarks be
bought to the DPP's attention.

"I would like to say this case has been a very harrowing one. Indeed, one
feels almost an intruder into the inner lives of Mr Stratton and Mr
Peterson. In my view, the accused has suffered much by having to stand
trial, has stood in jeopardy for over a year, and has been sufficiently
punished," said Judge Ducker.

"Had the jury returned a guilty verdict I would not have contemplated
imposing any form of custodial sentence, and I would be surprised if any
other judge had a different view.

"There is no suggestion that Mr Stratton was in any way coerced in this
matter. Furthermore, I think it is important to say that it was the action
of the accused in taking Mr Stratton out of the noose which saved Mr
Stratton's life. Had it not been for that act there is little doubt that Mr
Stratton would have perished.

"In a moral sense, if not in a legal sense, by his actions the accused did
much to undo a situation which before that he had contributed to."

Judge Ducker also declared his belief that Stratton should not be
prosecuted or asked to give evidence in a second trial because of the
"considerable emotional toll" taken by the court proceedings.

"I hope that Mr Peterson and Mr Stratton, either separately or together,
will continue to enjoy what life they have. If this event has taught them
anything, I hope it has taught them that life is precious," Ducker said.

Peterson, who works as a sales representative for a city department store,
had pleaded not guilty to the aiding and abetting charge.

The case now lies with the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has the
discretion to call for a re-trial or dismiss the matter.

Dominic O'Grady


TELSTRA SPONSORS SERVICE

*Telstra has announced that the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service of NSW
(GLCS) is the first recipient of Telstra's sponsorship program established
for gay and lesbian community organisations.
Telstra's sponsorship coincides with the GLCS 25th anniversary celebrations
and will assist it to upgrade its operations. It is the first time GLCS has
attracted a corporate sponsor.*

According to Telstra's Director of Community Relations, Simone Semmens,
"Telstra recognises that the Counselling Service is one of the gay and
lesbian community's essential services. This sponsorship acknowledges the
enormous volunteer commitment that keeps the operation going."

"We are proud to be associated with a gay and lesbian institution that has
helped thousands of people over the last 25 years."

The Counselling Service currently handles an estimated 15,000 phone calls
per year providing community information and assisting people in crisis.
Spokesperson for GLCS, Tim Young said that the sponsorship would be an
important supplement to government funds and the organisation's own
fund-raising efforts within the gay and lesbian community.

"It is fitting that our service should be the first recipient of Telstra's
community support program," he said. "All of our local and Freecall 1800
calls come to us through Telstra lines and have done so for over 20 years."

"In the 70s, when most gay and lesbian organisations experienced problems
with obtaining service from a range of businesses, Telstra (then Telecom)
gave us an excellent level of service. Even back in 1978, our service was
listed as a priority line for fault repairs."

"This sponsorship will allow us to replace our outdated and faulty system
with a digital system based on Telstra 'Customnet Spectrum'. The new system
will provide many new facilities such as improved access to country
callers."

Telstra's sponsorship program is part of its gay and lesbian marketing
campaign launched through press and outdoor advertising on 1 June this
year.

Further sponsorships will be announced progressively over the coming months.


MORE CALL AIDSLINE

AIDSline has reported an increase of more than 10 per cent in the number of
calls it received during last financial year. Forty four per cent of
callers rang about transmission risks of HIV and 26 per cent discussed
aspects of testing. Seventeen per cent said they had had unsafe sex at some
time in the past.

Sixty three per cent of callers were male and 35 per cent were female. Most
were in the 18 to 29 age group, though 25 per cent were aged 30-39 and five
per cent were under 18 years old.

Seventy-six per cent identified as heterosexual, 19 per cent as homosexual
and five per cent as bisexual.


FEDS WARNED ON GAY VOTE

*The Australian Council for Lesbian and Gay Rights has warned the Federal
Government that it may lose the gay and lesbian vote in key inner city
seats if it continues to oppose the move towards recognising same sex
relationships.*

The warning came as a result of a Government submission to the Federal
Industrial Relations Commission opposing clarification of the status of gay
and lesbian relationships under last year's landmark family leave decision.

The Government opposed an Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
submission calling on the IRC to follow the example set by the NSW
Industrial Relations Commission and explicitly recognise gay and lesbian
couples.

During the first day of hearings on Monday, the ACTU asked the commission
to clarify its leave ruling, which gave access to family leave entitlements
provided the family member was a member of the employee's household or a
member of the employee's immediate family.

The NSW commission subsequently amended the orders to provide explicit
family leave for employees with a partner of the same sex.

ACTU advocate Elana Rubin has called for the order to be clarified to
address the comments of the NSW commission and to explicitly provide
coverage irrespective of "sexual preference or race".

Ms Rubin argued that the entitlement should allow an employee to take leave
when responsible for the care of a same-sex partner who lived with the
employee in a bona fide domestic situation.

However the Government recommended in its submission that the IRC take no
action to clarify the matter, subject to a pending review of the Sex
Discrimination Act.

"The issue could be revisited, if necessary, if and when the Sex
Discrimination Act is amended, or, if practical difficulties are
experienced in the operation of the provision," it said.

ACLGR spokesperson Brian Greig said most of the problems gays and lesbians
experienced in industrial relations were a direct result of the
heterosexist definition of spouse proscribed by the Sex Discrimination Act.

"It's absurd for the Government to sit on their hands, yet again, and say
they're looking into it. The problem should be obvious," Mr Greig said.

"If the ACTU are going to take up the cause because the Government hasn't,
then that is the fault of the Government."

Mr Greig said the explicit recognition of same sex couples was an important
step towards addressing the numerous ways in which gay men, lesbians, and
their families were discriminated against under industrial law.

"If the Federal Government won't protect the rights of gay and lesbian
workers, it is the duty of the trade unions to do so."

Mr Greig said the Keating Government should be taking a leading role on the
issue instead of leaving it to the ACTU and the Courts.

He warned that if it continued to neglect its professed commitment to
sexuality based anti-discrimination measures it could expect to lose votes
in crucial seats at the next election.



TELEPHONE COUNCIL APPOINTS GAY MAN

*The Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC) last week
appointed its first openly gay member, Tim Young.*

TISSC sets a code of practice for the content and advertising of telephone
information services such as 0055 and 1900. It also provides arbitration on
complaints regarding breaches of the code.

Young's application, put forward by the Australian Federation of Consumer
Organisations (AFCO), was supported by a number of gay organisations.

Young has substantial experience in the telecommunications industry and is
a board member and counsellor with the Gay & Lesbian Counselling Service of
NSW.

Young said he applied for the position "because I felt that members of the
gay and lesbian community, who are large users of these services, deserve
some form of representation on the council".

"I am particularly grateful for the support I received from AFCO, who
clearly have an understanding of the diversity of the consumers they
represent."

Young intends to seek the views of the gay and lesbian community during his
three year appointment to the council.


BRIEFS

BISEXUALS LACK SUPPORT
The Australian Bisexual Network claims data from its first national phone
in recently shows that bisexual people suffer from an unacceptable level of
violence, abuse, isolation, discrimination and lack of community support.

MARDI GRAS HISTORY
The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives has published a history of the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Written by Graham Carbery, founder of
the Archives and its current secretary, the book traces the evolution of
Mardi Gras from 1978 to the present, a "warts and all" account of the
controversies that have beset organisers of the most popular gay and
lesbian event in the world.

RIGHT ATTACKS ART
The Christian Right in WA has launched a campaign against an art exhibition
to be staged at the WA Museum during the 1995 Pride Festival.


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BOTTOM LINE

AN ALTERNATIVE NATION
The gay scene is currently a long way from even accepting the queercore
movement, let alone letting its members into its clubs writes Christopher
Younie. But then again the queercore movement isn't likely to be adopting
the almost militant uniform of white t-shirts and 501s, that has dually
provided a uniting style for those wearing it, and ostracising, almost
oppressing, those who don't or won't.

The gay community, when demonstrating for mainstream acceptance, often
employes the concept that homosexuals come in many forms, ranging from your
local doctor to your favourite hairdresser. One would guess that the gay
community uses this argument in an effort to demonstrate our 'normalness'
and to celebrate our diversity. However, it is an unfortunate situation
that within the very community that pushes for equality, occupants are
rejecting brothers and sisters on the simple grounds of difference.

The victims of exclusion, are again, a diverse bunch - each experiencing
rejection to varying extents, which is often defined by their 'difference
factor' which ostrasizes them from the gay scene. One such group that is
subjected to such intolerance is the alternative crowd - a subculture that
encaptures many other movements such as goths, punks, crusties (the 90s
hippies), heavy metal heads, or basically anyone who doesn't quite fit into
the notion of either the straight or gay 'norm'.

The process of growing up gay is a difficult enough task; the spectrum of
emotions that play havoc with one's upbringing and cultural knowledge and
push the individual to question, "Why am I different and where are others
like me?" Imagine enduring this predicament when the individual doesn't
feel comfortable in the gay community, perhaps not even welcomed... They
don't enjoy disco, they loathe Shirley Bassey, and the closest they want to
come to a white t-shirt is one which has been shredded and re-made with
safety pins and anarchy patches.

There a lot of individuals out there that feel exactly this way. Admittedly
my situation isn't as bad as other ostracised gays. I've managed to
cultivate a look which embraces styles from gothdom, the new romantic
movement and drag, all dished up with a queer attitude. I'm content to
'goth shuffle' to the latest 'Sisters of Mercy' track, but can, after a
night of rejection, drink my sorrows away to Bab's vocalisations of
unrequited love.

I've found that amongst my alternative peers there is more of an air of
acceptance, which doesn't exist in the gay scene. They are seemingly less
quick to judge and greet one's latest look with appreciative eyes rather
than gasps of horror ...Try donning a cape, gothic war paint crowned with
ratted hair and entering one of the mainstream gay clubs, against a sea of
white bond t-shirts and 501s. You're likely to go down as well as Fred
Niles at a beat. But even the camaraderie amongst the alternative set is
marred with homophobia, and, alas, nearly all the boys (cute or otherwise)
are seemingly straight. Unlike a gay club, when cruising, the element of
picking up is virtually non-existent - unfortunately the alternative
punters are immune to one's come hither stare and misconstrue it as a
Sub-Zero induced haze.

But of course one does encounter elements of homophobia within the
alternative scene, but it's almost expected and one has usually built a
tolerance to it by a clubbing age. We know that their intolerance is
spawned from ignorance, but when we receive the same disfavour from fellow
gays, then we realise that their prejudice is born from maliciousness and
stupidity. It seems to sting even worse to receive such cruelty from the
gay community, as we, perhaps foolhardily, expect a common bond and no
suppression from a scene built from it. I think it's a case of; we're bad
but you're worse.

The fanzine 'The Burning Times' provides interesting reading for those who
are sick of the scene and its capitalist-like morals. It provides
information relevant to the alternative queer reader, such as coming out
issues, gay friendly alternative venues, poetry, interviews and much more.
It's rather cheap ($3) and readily available at independent bookstores,
such as Hares and Hyenas.

The social group 'Alternative Notion' is a growing collection of identities
who meet fortnightly, where fellow queers meet without the fear of
rejection, intolerance or a Kylie track interrupting the conversation.

Whilst the gay family steadily receives more and more acceptance from the
straight community, we, the queercore and other disenchanted gays, can only
hope that the gay community begins to accept all its members, and instead
of displaying prejudice based on difference, we celebrate them.

For further details on either 'The Burning Times' or 'Alternative Notion'
feel free to send a S.A.E. to: PO Box 425, Clifton Hill, Victoria, 3068.


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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