VIC
Far-right extremist jailed for homophobic tirade in inclusive church
A Victorian judge has jailed far-right extremist Neil Erikson after he filmed himself entering an LGBTIQ+ friendly church and hurling homophobic abuse at parishioners. A Melbourne Magistrates Court judge sentenced the 36-year-old on Friday after finding him guilty of disturbing a religious service, AAP reported. In May 2019, he entered the LGBTIQ-inclusive Metropolitan Community Church …
Ad watchdog gets homophobic complaints about these gay ads
Victorian LGBTIQ+ organisation Thorne Harbour Health has hit out at homophobic complaints against its longest-running gay men’s sexual health campaign. Since 2008, Thorne Harbour’s “The Drama Downunder” campaign has promoted STI testing and gay men’s sexual health and wellbeing. To do so, they use models wearing white briefs to bust stigma around discussing sexual health. …
Lesbian couple left heartbroken by ‘cruel’ IVF law
A same-sex couple in Victoria, Lissa and Kariah Koehler, have called for a “cruel and heartbreaking” IVF law in their state to be changed. The couple are mums to a three-year-old girl, and say they had “hoped and dreamed” to give her a sibling when the time was right. For the last five years, Lissa …
Outcry over Melbourne vandal’s sick homophobic, Nazi graffiti
LGBTIQ+ Jewish advocates have condemned a vandal who carved a swastika and a vile anti-gay slur into concrete in Melbourne. Gardiners Trail is a pedestrian footpath that winds along Gardiners Creek through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Victorian-based LGBTIQ Jewish group Aleph Melbourne reported to council a vandal’s carving of a swastika and the words “Kill Gays” …
Victoria’s groundbreaking Pride Centre is officially open
Australia’s first purpose-built LGBTIQ+ community hub, the Victorian Pride Centre, is officially open to the community. The Pride Centre, located on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, is Australia’s largest hub of its type for queer communities. The centre is now housing fifteen of the state’s LGBTIQ organisations and officially opened on Sunday (July 11). At …
Victorian man fined for attack on gay neighbour over rainbow house
A judge has fined a man in Victoria after he verbally assaulted his neighbour over plans to paint his Phillip Island house rainbow. Mykey O’Halloran (pictured above centre), a professional hair artist, moved in to his bungalow on Victoria’s Phillip Island in February. However a month later, O’Halloran said neighbour Jai Ryan heard about his …
ABC’s Australian Story profiles top gender doctor Michelle Telfer
ABC’s Australian Story program will tonight spotlight paedetrician Associate Professor Michelle Telfer, the head of the Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne’s Gender Service. Dr Telfer (pictured) is a world leader in treating gender dysphoria in trans and gender diverse young people. She’s guided hundreds of transgender children through their first steps to transitioning over the last …
Police investigate assault on Greens councillor outside Poof Doof
A councillor in Victoria allegedly launched a homophobic tirade after sustaining serious injuries in an altercation outside queer dance party Poof Doof. Anab Mohamud, a Yarra City councillor and member of the Australian Greens, suffered facial injuries in the violent assault in the early hours of April 11. Victoria Police are investigating the incident outside …
Pride in Protest want police banned from Melbourne’s Midsumma Pride March
Hundreds have signed an open letter from activist group Pride in Protest calling on Melbourne’s Midsumma to ban police officers and correctional officers from the city’s annual Pride March. The Midsumma Pride March 2021 kicks off this Sunday morning in St Kilda (May 23), as part of the annual LGBTIQ festival in Victoria. A contingent …
Ex-AFL star Dani Laidley sues Victoria Police over ‘malicious’ leaked photos
Former AFL coach Dani Laidley is suing Victoria Police for negligence over the alleged “malicious” leaking of sensitive photos of her in custody that outed her as transgender. Last May, Dani Laidley was arrested for stalking offences outside a woman’s home, to which she later plead guilty. After the arrest, a photo of Laidley’s mugshot …