Queensland
Rallies around Australia to oppose religious exemptions
Pro-equality rallies planned for around the country will oppose religious legal exemptions and LGBTIQ discrimination in the name of “religious freedom”. On Saturday, August 17, a Brisbane rally will be held in Queens Gardens from 1pm. Organisers Equal Love Brisbane said the rally will call on the Morrison government not to “further entrench and broaden …
New regional LGBTIQ festival confirmed for Queensland
A new north Queensland LGBTIQ event, the Port Douglas Hot & Steamy Festival, will be held in February as a precursor to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Festival directors Nathan Clarke and Jason Penrose created the event to showcase the region’s beauty during a gap in the region’s events calendar. “February in the …
Explainer: IVF and discrimination in Queensland
First came love, then came marriage (equality), then came the LGBTIQ+ couple with a baby carriage. With the growth of technology and medical advancement, the dream of having a child has never been more accessible for same sex couples. Anti-discrimination legislation in Queensland, however, explicitly allows discrimination against the queer community, enabling IVF clinics to …
Date set for Brisbane Pride Festival’s 2019 Fair Day
After the success of the 58th Annual Queens Ball last month, the Brisbane Pride Committee are now hard at work organising a month of Pride celebrations for September. Brisbane Pride Fair Day is on Saturday, September 21 at New Farm Park. Lock it in! This year’s festival will see more events than ever before. Between …
Cairns Pride Festival is happening in October
The Queensland AIDS Council will auspice Cairns Pride Festival this October after the region’s long-running festival shut down last year. Last December, the committee of Cairns Tropical Pride made the difficult decision to close the festival’s association after 12 years. Janet Wilson, QuAC Northern Region Board Member, paid tribute to “the tremendous work and commitment …
Meet Phoebe Le Brocque, our LGBTIQ Young Achiever of the Year
Phoebe Le Brocque from Queensland group Here We Queer (HWQ) was named Young Achiever of the Year at the 58th Annual Queens Ball Awards, a week short of Here We Queer’s first birthday. She and friend Tayla Lauren Ralph envisaged HWQ as providing the sort of safe, accessible queer meetup that they would have appreciated …
Drag queen Cash Richy to make debut in ritzy Port Douglas
Few drag queens get the opportunity Jack Ritchie has in Port Douglas – making his performance debut in a ritzy tropical resort. Drag queens and their stage shows used to comprise mainly two distinct styles. In suburban clubs, the “I can’t believe they’re men” Les Girls style shows allowed suburban mums and dads a safe …
WATCH: Queensland LGBTIQ police officers open up about their work
The Queensland Police Service has released a new video following the day-to-day work of three QPS officers who are also members of the LGBTIQ community. The 15-minute “One step better” video builds on the QPS’ 2017 video “It gets better” which shared powerful personal stories of QPS staff coming out as LGBTIQ at work. The …
Shayne Wilde: A Living Treasure of Queensland
In this internet age, ticking multiple ‘likes’ on Facebook apparently qualifies as activism. However, not so long ago, community members risked jail and physical violence to achieve the rights we enjoy today. Shayne Wilde was one of them, writes Bill Rutkin. The scope and magnitude of her contribution to homosexual law reform and anti-discrimination legislation …
Election 2019: Meet the candidates who want your vote in the seat of Brisbane
QN Magazine asked each of the candidates for the seat of Brisbane, “If elected to represent Brisbane at the 2019 Federal Election, what specific commitments can you make to the LGBTIQ voters of that electorate to work towards the improvement of their lives?” See their responses below. Trevor Evans, Liberal Since I was elected to …