australian defence force
OPINION: Why Australia Owes An Apology To Discharged LGBTIQ Military Personnel
By Noah Riseman, Australian Catholic University The Australian Defence Force (ADF) banned lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel from serving openly until November 1992, and there were restrictions on transgender service until September 2010. Even so, we know LGBT people have always been serving bravely in the ADF. In an ongoing research project with Macquarie University …
Call For A National Apology For LGBTIQ Former Military Personnel
Australian defence personnel who were dishonourably discharged from the military on the basis of their sexuality deserve a national apology and compensation, a military historian has told the federal government. Australian Catholic University associate professor Noah Riseman has sent a policy brief document to federal defence minister Christopher Pyne explaining many lesbian, gay, bisexual and …
Honouring Our Gay Diggers: The Importance Of Rainbow Wreaths On ANZAC Day
By Vince Chong On Anzac Day, Australians honour the sacrifice of all those who have served to defend the country in war and peace. It is a special day on the Australian calendar where everyone has the opportunity to honour and remember a person, a unit or any group of people who served their country. …
The Secret History Of Lesbian Women In Australia’s Armed Forces
By Shirleene Robinson, Macquarie University Jennifer, who signed up to the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) in 1979, told me that “until I joined the Army, I had no awareness of gay people. I had no awareness that I was gay, I didn’t know that world existed.” This changed dramatically within a number of …
Twenty-Five Years Ago, Australia Lifted Its Gay Military Ban
By Noah Riseman, Australian Catholic University Last week’s overwhelming “yes” vote represents another step in progress towards LGBTI equality. It built on the activism of LGBTI elders and the reforms of previous governments that have, since the 1970s, been affirming the rights of LGBTI people to participate in all walks of Australian life. With so …
Defence Force Stands Up For Transgender Troops After Criticism
The Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force has stood up for the country’s transgender troops amid a “hysterical” debate over their gender reassignment surgery. Politicians including Pauline Hanson, Cory Bernardi and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie seized on a report by News Corp last week that more than $1 million had been spent on 17 …
Defence Minister Rejects Pauline Hanson’s Call To Scrap Trans Health Funding
Federal Defence Minister Marise Payne has rejected calls for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to stop providing gender reassignment surgery to troops. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson used Question Time in the Senate on Monday to ask why the ADF has treated 27 personnel for gender dysphoria in the past five years at a cost …
Witch-Hunts And Surveillance: The Hidden Lives Of Our LGBTI Soldiers
By Shirleene Robinson, Macquarie University Last year, I interviewed a man who had joined the Royal Australian Navy aged 19 in 1967, as Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War escalated. He had a family tradition of military involvement, with a father who had also served in the Navy, and he signed up for what was …