politics
NSW conservative candidates slammed for ‘terrifying’ anti-trans views
One Nation’s New South Wales leader Mark Latham and Australian Conversatives candidate Dr Greg Walsh have been slammed for advocating at a political forum that transgender youth be prevented from transitioning. Dr Walsh said allowing children diagnosed with gender dysphoria to take puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones is “an incredibly dangerous route”. “There are lots …
1.1 million sign petition calling for resignation of Queensland Senator Fraser Anning
More than 1.1 million people have signed a petition calling for Queensland Senator Fraser Anning to be removed from parliament for sickening comments he made hours after the Christchurch mass shooting. Senator Anning said that he was opposed to violence of any form but “what [the shooting] highlights is the growing fear within our community, …
Milo Yiannopoulos re-banned after ‘appalling’ Christchurch comments
Immigration Minister David Coleman has denied Milo Yiannopoulos an Australia visa over the right-wing troll’s “appalling” comments on the Christchurch mosque shooting. After the Department of Immigration initally recommended he be banned on character grounds, reports emerged that Coleman had intervened to grant Yiannopoulos the visa. Several Liberal MPs including Tim Wilson and One Nation …
Gay Irish PM Leo Varadkar takes boyfriend to meeting with Mike Pence
Gay Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has delivered a powerful message of anti-discrimination in front of notorious anti-LGBTIQ US Vice President Mike Pence. Varadkar was joined by his partner Matt Barrett for the first time at an annual function at Mike and Karen Pence’s residence to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. The Irish Taoiseach spoke at …
Greens call to scrap school chaplain program in LGBTIQ election pledge
The Australian Greens have announced a suite of LGBTIQ policies in the lead-up to the federal election, which will be held before the end of May. The policy platform, unveiled on Friday by the party’s LGBTIQ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice and Victorian Greens candidate Adam Pulford, cover discrimination, health, homelessness, and conversion therapy. Rice said …
Trump administration policy banning US soldiers from transitioning set to begin
LGBTIQ advocates have slammed the Trump administration for a policy that will require most transgender troops and military recruits to serve in the gender they were assigned at birth and ban them from transitioning. The memo outlining the policy, signed by Pentagon official David Norquist, says the new limits must be implemented within 30 days, …
Wilma’s story: The Queensland court case that helped to change anti-gay laws
In a fond remembrance of the lead player, QN Magazine’s regional correspondent Pearl of the Outback shares a personal perspective of a once notorious Queensland incident, a story reminiscent of the acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, but one which contributed to profound change in Queensland laws. What follows is the first article of several I hope to …
OPINION: Five ways we still need to progress LGBTIQ rights in Australia
By Liam Elphick, University of Western Australia Wednesday, November 15 2017, Northbridge Plaza, Perth, 7.00am: “Yes responses, 7,817,247, representing 61.6% …” read the chief statistician of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, David Kalisch, on the big screen. The huge crowd erupted. Hugging, crying, comfort, joy. That was one of the happiest moments of my life, …
Alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos ‘banned from entering Australia’
The federal government has rejected alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos’ application for a visa to enter Australia, angering One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Yiannopoulos had his visa application rejected on character grounds, Nine newspapers reported on Wednesday, and he has a month to appeal the decision. His 2017 tour of Australia saw violent clashes between left- …
Bizarre homophobic election flyers appear in Sydney letterboxes
A bizarre homophobic and transphobic flyer distributed to letterboxes in the Sydney suburbs of Hurstville and Campsie ahead of the state election has been referred to the NSW Electoral Commission. The anti-gay flyer instructs voters “Do Not Vote Labor” and is written in poor English with both Chinese and Arabic translations. “Do not vote Labor …