New South Wales
The Peter Allen Festival is returning in September
The Peter Allen Festival in the historic town of Tenterfield New South Wales, just three hours from Brisbane, returns in early September. It celebrates the local icon’s contribution to arts and culture in Australia and internationally. No song says welcome home better than Peter’s ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ and no town offers a friendlier …
Nominate your LGBTIQ heroes for NSW’s Honour Awards
Nominations are open for this year’s Honour Awards, an annual NSW event to recognise outstanding work in the state’s LGBTIQ community. Organisers are encouraging everyone to highlight individuals and organisations who have made a difference in NSW and Australia. First held in 2007, the Honour Awards also raise money for ACON’s health initiatives. Nominations can …
Mardi Gras announces bid to bring mega festival WorldPride to Sydney
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras announced their formal bid to bring the WorldPride festival to Sydney in 2023. WorldPride is a global LGBTIQ festival that is held every two years in different host cities around the world. If Mardi Gras is successful in its bid, it will be the first WorldPride held in the …
Rainbow crossing unveiled in southern Sydney suburb for Pride Month
A council has installed a rainbow crossing in the south Sydney suburb of Hurstville to celebrate Pride Month. Georges River Council installed the rainbow crossing in a central location on Forest Road in the suburb. Mayor Kevin Greene said the crossing was to celebrate and show support for the diverse community. “Pride Month is an …
Counter-terrorism cops called as homophobic Kerryn Phelps emails ‘escalate’
The NSW Police’s counter-terrorism unit is investigating a string of homophobic, racist, and anti-semitic emails targeting the federal MP for Wentworth, Dr Kerryn Phelps. Dr Phelps made a complaint to NSW Police following the latest abusive email which said “LGBT are no better than pigs or dogs.” She said an email distributed this week which …
LGBTIQ publication Star Observer goes into voluntary administration
Australian LGBTIQ publication Star Observer has announced the company has entered voluntary administration and is up for sale. The publication announced on Thursday the board of directors of the company, Gay & Lesbian Community Publishing Limited, had appointed Trent McMillen from MaC Insolvency as administrator on Friday, May 10. “Cash flow is the lifeblood of …
Sydney Lord Mayor pays tribute to late Mardi Gras 78er Ron Austin
City of Sydney councillors observed a minute’s silence on Monday night to memorialise gay activist and Mardi Gras ‘78er Ron Austin, who passed away a month ago. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore also honoured Austin’s “outstanding” contribution to Mardi Gras and his long history of LGBTIQ activism with the following tribute. I pay tribute to …
Liberal candidate said same-sex marriage would end Mother’s and Father’s Day
A Liberal party candidate who suggested on social media that same-sex marriage would spell the end of Mother’s and Father’s Day and called for same-sex couples be banned from adoption has said he does not hold those views. In a series of posts between 2010 and 2015, Allan Green, the Liberal candidate for the west …
Kerryn Phelps blasts new round of ‘anti-semitic, homophobic’ election emails
Independent MP Kerryn Phelps has referred a new round of offensive emails targeting her New South Wales electorate of Wentworth to the Australian Federal Police. Phelps said the new email contained false “homophobic, antisemitic, racist” claims and was “just generally pretty disgusting.” The latest emails are similar to ones sent to some Wentworth voters last …
Tributes flow for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 78er Ron Austin
Ron Austin, one of the pioneering Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 78ers, has passed away in Sydney at age 90. Austin was among the marchers in the first Mardi Gras parade along Sydney’s Oxford Street in 1978. That group is now known as “The 78ers”. He was an early member of LGBTIQ rights group …