NATIONAL NEWS
Latest LGBTIQ national news from Australia
Doctor slams News Corp for ‘disinformation’ on transgender healthcare
Pediatrician Michelle Telfer, who heads the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne gender clinic, has slammed News Corp’s The Australian newspaper for publishing fearmongering “disinformation” on transgender healthcare. In 2019, the Australian newspaper was slammed for anti-transgender bias after launching a dedicated “Gender” section on its website featuring overwhelming negatively coverage. Associate Professor Telfer featured frequently in …
Alleged Parliament House rapist scrubs internet presence
The alleged Parliament House rapist purportedly scrubbed his internet presence and disappeared from public view this week. His actions follow allegations of inappropriate behaviour, sexual assault and rape from four women. Various independent news media and social media accounts named the supposed perpetrator over the last week. They describe him as a former Liberal Party …
Tasmanian church admits to conducting gay ‘conversion therapy’
A church in Tasmania has told a state inquiry they “make no apologies” for conducting forms of “conversion therapy” on gay and lesbian Tasmanians. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute is conducting an inquiry into the discredited and dangerous practices. The TLRI define “sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) conversion practices” as “acts or statements aimed …
Belle Beare on why she signed the Pride in Protest petition
Recently I joined over a thousand GLBTIQA+ people in signing the Pride in Protest petition. This petition asked for the removal of uniformed police and uniformed corrective service members from Mardi Gras. Motions based on the petition were put to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) AGM but were narrowly voted down. Belle …
Josh Goyne, ‘the gay cowboy’, is back fund-raising again
Josh Goyne, who promotes himself as ‘the gay cowboy’ and the face of Stroke Support and Awareness Australia (SSAA), is again soliciting for public donations. QNews previously reported on SSAA’s apparent failure to properly account for funds raised over a number of years. Join the conversation with a comment below the article or subscribe for …
Children of same-sex parents do better at school, study finds
Children with same-sex parents outperform other children on multiple indicators of academic achievement, new research has found. University of Melbourne and University of Queensland researchers analysed data from Dutch population registers for the study, published in journal Demography. They found children of same-sex-parents scored higher on national standardised tests than those in different-sex-parented families. The …
Carlotta’s Farewell Tour: final shows of the Living Legend
Australian Living Legend Carlotta retires this September. But as the title of her show says — she’s not dead yet, darlings. Following her amazing career, Australia’s leading showgirl is finally hanging up her boas but there’s still time to catch Carlotta’s Farewell Tour beginning in Adelaide this weekend. And she’s going out with a bang, …
QNews responds to Facebook ban on Australian news sites
Facebook this morning banned Australian news content. The action comes following Australian Government legislation that requires Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for content that appears in feeds. Following the Facebook ban, the QNews Facebook page became inaccessible, along with those of other Australian news publishers. Despite apparently finding it impossible to stop Flat-earthers …
Beware Wage Gougers: International students at particular risk
Miles Heffernan says a recent incident at Adelaide’s Gouger Street demonstrates the particular vulnerability of international students to wage gougers. However, as he explains, Australian laws provide protections for all employees in this country, regardless of their residency status. Recent viral footage of an incident at Adelaide’s Fun Tea Cafe highlighted the issue of wage …
National survey of LGBTIQ folk in religious organisations
Religiously affiliated schools in NSW can sack LGBT+ teachers, but in Tasmania, they can’t. Researchers from the University of Tasmania say that difference has a profound impact on the lives of LGBT+ people. The researchers are conducting a national survey — the first major study of this kind in Australia. Government-funded organisations with religious affiliations …
Gay man denied next-of-kin rights still waiting for closure
A gay Tasmanian man who was denied next-of-kin rights has been left waiting almost two years for his case to be resolved in the state’s Supreme Court. Ben Jago’s partner of five years, Nathan Lunson, died by suicide in January 2015. In 2015, police and the state’s Coroner failed to recognise him as the next …
What Australia’s new blood donation rules mean for gay and trans donors
Australia’s Red Cross Lifeblood service has eased long-standing blood donation rules for gay, bi and transgender donors across the country. Gay, bi and some trans donors are now permitted to give blood if they have been celibate for three months. The new rule is a reduction from the previous waiting period of 12 months, which …
Church leader returns award and slams Margaret Court’s ‘bad theology’
Victorian faith leader Reverend Alistair Mcrae says he wants to return his Order of Australia to protest Margaret Court’s “bad theology”. In Tuesday’s Australia Day awards, the tennis champ-turned-pastor was elevated from an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) to a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for her tennis achievements. Now Reverend …
Kerry O’Brien rejects Australia Day honour to protest Margaret Court
Veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien has rejected an Australia Day award to protest the controversial decision to give Margaret Court Australia’s highest honour. On Tuesday, the tennis champ turned Perth pastor is receiving a Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia for her service to tennis. But after Court’s top Australia Day gong leaked on Friday …
Doctor returns Order of Australia to protest Court honour
Canberra’s Doctor Clara Tuck Meng Soo, yesterday wrote to the Governor-General, returning her Order of Australia Medal. Dr Soo took the step to protest Margaret Court receiving a second, higher Order of Australia. Dr Soo wrote that the Council for the Order of Australia sent the wrong message by again honouring Margaret Court. “By giving …
Margaret Court is getting a top Australia Day Honour and people have thoughts
Tennis legend turned homophobic pastor Margaret Court is getting a top Australia Day Honour this year and it’s sparked intense backlash. Court is set to be promoted to a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) next Tuesday. She was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2007 for her tennis achievements. …
Biden’s LGBTIQ vision puts Australia’s major parties to shame
Joe Biden has a bold agenda for LGBTIQ equality. The new American president’s LGBTIQ vision highlights discrimination in the Coalition’s policies as well as Labor’s lack of commitment. In 2020 most Australians viewed the US with a mix of horror and pity. In 2021, LGBTIQ Australians and our allies will view it with envy. The …
Calls for prison reform after death of transgender woman
The death of a transgender woman allegedly raped at a Tasmanian prison in 2018 has sparked a petition calling for better protection of trans inmates. Warning: Distressing content Hobart trans woman Marjorie Harwood was jailed for theft offences in 2017. She was placed in the men’s section of Risdon Prison because her birth certificate listed …
Bert Gerbrands, Turtle Cove’s infamous Queen B, dies
Bert Gerbrands, founding general manager of Turtle Cove Beach Resort, has died. After opening the resort in 1993, Bert retired to Thailand in 1999. However, he returned in 2009 when a Melbourne couple bought the resort with the aim of returning it to its glory days. Bert Gerbrands established himself in the Cairns hospitality industry …
CHEER Cheese: new name to replace racist COON brand name
Canadian-owned Saputo Dairy Australia today announced the company would replace the racist COON brand name. From June, the product will be rebranded as CHEER Cheese. The decision comes after decades of brand owners defending a racist slur. Various companies previously claimed the cheese took its name from brand ‘founder’, E W Coon. Destiny Rogers recently …
Rodney Croome and Brian Greig: LGBTIQ Human Rights in 2021
Rodney Croome and Brian Greig predict LGBTIQ rights battles will heat up in 2021, with big challenges and opportunities ahead. They say it’s time to get more allies on board and focus on local campaigning. Rodney Croome and Brian Greig are long-time Australian LGBTIQ human rights advocates. Both are recipients of the Order of Australia …
COON: more holes than Swiss cheese – investigating a slur
Earlier this year Saputo Dairy Australia announced they would ‘retire’ the name of COON Cheese. The decision follows a long campaign by Aboriginal academic and social justice advocate Dr Stephen Hagan. Previous owners defended the brand name based on the claim that cheesemaker Fred Walker named the cheese in honour of Edward Coon, the inventor …
