NSW
Gay man reveals shocking police reaction to 1980s bashing
Warning: distressing content A gay man bashed in a horrific 1980s Sydney hate crime has alleged a police report at the time said he “deserved” the attack. After murder charges in the 1988 death of Scott Johnson, Sydney man Martin Parker recalled his memories of his own vicious assault in northern Sydney with The Australian. Parker …
MasterChef fans are devastated after Khanh Ong eliminated
MasterChef Australia fan favourite Khanh Ong has bid farewell to the show with an emotional send-off after he was eliminated from the competition on Sunday night. The 27-year-old chef was sent home from MasterChef: Back to Win after he failed to wow the judges with his quail dish. The Victorian chef, who is gay, held …
Here’s what Sydney’s memorial for gay hate crime victims could look like
ACON and Waverley Council have released shortlisted designs for the planned memorial artwork for victims of historical gay hate crimes in Sydney. The permanent memorial, in Marks Park at Tamarama south of Bondi, will honour victims and survivors targeted in homophobic and transphobic attacks in NSW across decades. From the 1970s to 1990s, attackers targeted …
Queer Aussies reveal biggest struggles during COVID-19 isolation
Transgender people have had gender-affirming medical procedures delayed and young queer people have returned to unsupportive home environments due to COVID-19, according to a community survey. The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (NSWGLRL) surveyed the LGBTIQ community about the economic, health and safety impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups reported 65% of respondents …
Furious residents petition for CCTV to catch rainbow crossing vandals
Wollongong residents have asked their local council for better surveillance after “cowardly” homophobic vandals repeatedly defaced their local rainbow crossing. The rainbow crossing was painted in the coastal New South Wales city last Christmas as a show of support for the LGBTIQ community. However after it was unveiled, vandals targeted the crossing with their cars, …
Hope for other ‘gay hate’ cold cases after Scott Johnson murder charge
After last week’s arrest of the alleged killer of gay man Scott Johnson, police have appealed for new information in other unsolved suspected “gay hate” cases from the same era. From the late 1970s through to the early 1990s, more than 80 gay men disappeared or were murdered in NSW, many at coastal parks in …
Federal government urged to act on LGBTIQ homelessness
Four LGBTIQ organisations have united to call on the federal government to address high rates of LGBTIQ homelessness in Australia. The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Transgender Victoria, the New South Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Intersex Human Rights Australia have made the submission to the federal inquiry into homelessness. In it, …
NSW government supports TGA’s new gay blood donor rules
The NSW government has backed the TGA’s recommendation to ease restrictions on Australian gay men donating blood. Currently, Australia’s Lifeblood donation service refuses male donors who have had sex with men in the past 12 months. However last week, health regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) accepted Lifeblood’s proposal to lower that deferral period for …
Police appeal after trans woman bashed by mob of young men
Police are hunting a group of more than a dozen men who “cowardly” assaulted a transgender woman on Sydney’s northern beaches. The woman, aged in her late twenties, ended up unconscious after the mob of around 15 young men attacked her in the carpark near the Dee Why Surf Life Saving Club on March 20. …
Scott Johnson: Police make progress in gay-hate death investigation
New South Wales homicide detectives investigating the 1988 suspected gay-hate killing of Scott Johnson have reportedly narrowed in on “a particular individual”. Scott Johnson’s body was found at the base of a cliff in Sydney on December 10, 1988. The Sydney-based American national was just 27 when he died. A coronial inquest initially concluded Johnson …