Victoria
JOY 94.9 gets the keys to Victorian Pride Centre
Australia’s queer radio station JOY 94.9 will begin broadcasting from their new home at the Victorian Pride Centre in the new year. Victoria’s Equality Minister Martin Foley recently joined Pride Centre Chair Jude Munro AO for a symbolic ceremony handing the keys to JOY staff. The radio station will join LGBTIQ youth organisation Minus18 as …
Aussie author pens kids’ novel to allow rainbow families to see themselves
Australian author Jac Tomlins has launched a new children’s novel that she believes is one of the very first to feature a rainbow family. The author and mum of three launched the book, The Curse of Grandma Maple, this week for kids in the upper primary age range. “[The novel] is not a story about …
Joel Creasey stand-up show cancelled after ‘threats to safety’
Comedian Joel Creasey has cancelled an upcoming show in Bendigo in regional Victoria, with organisers citing threats and safety concerns. The comic and TV presenter was to take to the stage at the Golden Vine Hotel next Thursday (November 14). But the show’s promoter, Golden Vine Comedy, posted on Facebook that the planned show had been …
Grindr user sentenced after attempting to rob former classmate
A Victorian man who used a fake name to hunt for victims to rob on Grindr was foiled by a former high school classmate who notified police. Thomas Samas sent “sexualised” messages to 37 Grindr users under the pseudonym “Timothy Hines” in March this year, the Whittlesea Leader reported. The 22-year-old asked the Grindr users …
New podcast to support LGBTIQ Australians impacted by suicide
A new podcast by queer radio station JOY 94.9 aims to offer “support, conversation, and comfort” to LGBTIQ Australians affected by suicide. Let’s Talk About Suicide launched today and is produced by the Melbourne radio station and two health services. Four people affected by suicide – Beau, Lara, Peter, and Alice – take part in …
Victim of bungled gay bookstore raid calls for police accountability
Nik Dimopoulos, the Melbourne man who suffered a serious shoulder injury during a botched Victoria Police raid, has demanded more police accountability on use of excessive force. On May 11, Dimopoulos was asleep in an apartment above queer bookstore Hares and Hyenas in Fitzroy when he heard intruders in what he feared was a home …
Attorney-General denies ‘conversion therapy’ risk in religious freedom bill
Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has hit back at claims by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews that the draft religious discrimination bill could make it harder to outlaw “gay conversion” therapy at a state level. “Conversion therapy” refers to harmful and discredited practices to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, using psychological or …
Teacher sues Christian school for religious discrimination
A teacher has filed a discrimination complaint against a private Christian school, claiming she had to quit after refusing to accept its policy opposing same-sex marriage. Rachel Colvin claims Ballarat Christian College discriminated against her due to her political and religious beliefs, including her support for same-sex marriage. The married mother of three alleges she …
Anglican leader intervenes to delay blessing of gay priests’ marriage
Two gay Anglican priests who married this week won’t have their union officially blessed in a Victorian church following a legal challenge. Priests John Davis and Rob Whalley (pictured above) married in a civil ceremony on Tuesday. Wangaratta Anglican Bishop John Parkes previously announced he planned to bless the couple’s relationship in his regional church. …
Victoria’s transgender birth certificate reforms pass
A bill to allow transgender and gender diverse Victorians to change the sex marker on their birth certificate without surgery has passed its final vote. Trans rights advocates cheered the passage of the amendment to the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act in the state parliament’s upper house on Tuesday night. Victorian Attorney-General Jill …