ACT
ACT leader Andrew Barr married his partner on their 20th anniversary
The Australian Capital Territory’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr, our first openly gay government leader, has married partner Anthony Toms. The couple tied the knot at a “small family ceremony” on Wednesday at the historical Longworth House in Anthony’s hometown of Newcastle, New South Wales. Barr posted to Instagram a collage of wedding snaps. The ACT …
ACT Government pledges ban on ‘gay conversion therapy’
The Australian Capital Territory’s Chief Minister has announced his government plans to ban “gay conversion therapy”. “Conversion therapy” refers to debunked and dangerous practices to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or transgender identity, using psychological or spiritual means. The announcement is part of the ACT’s new “action plan” for the territory’s LGBTIQ community. …
ACT leader urges gay blood donor reforms
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced he will call for federal Labor to change the party’s platform on gay blood donors. The Labor Party hold their national conference this weekend. Australia has a 12-month deferral period on donating blood for men who have sex with another man in the last 12 months. Although meant to …
Australia’s First Same-Sex Traffic Lights Unveiled In Canberra
Pedestrian lights at a Canberra intersection have been changed from a green “walking man” to walking same-sex couples, in an Australian first. The eight green pedestrian lights are located at the intersection of Cooyong Street with Lonsdale and Genge streets in the north Canberra suburb of Braddon, where queer Canberrans gathered to celebrate the “yes” …
Greens Call For Recognition Of ACT Couples’ 2013 Same-Sex Weddings
The couples who wed when same-sex marriage was briefly legal in the Australian Capital Territory four years ago should have their original wedding dates recognised under federal law, the ACT Greens say. ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury (pictured) wrote to federal Attorney-General Christian Porter to ask if the 31 Canberra couples who married in the …
Permanent ‘Rainbow Roundabout’ Unveiled In Canberra
Canberra installed a rainbow roundabout last weekend. It pays tribute to the city’s strong “yes” vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey. The permanent artwork is on a roundabout in the inner north Canberra suburb of Braddon. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, said at last weekend’s Spring Out Pride Parade that the roundabout was about …