Victoria
These two ex-nuns fell in love, but had to leave the convent
An Australian former Catholic nun has opened up about meeting her girlfriend in the convent, before homophobic condemnation forced the lesbian couple out of the church. Monica Hingston, who is a second cousin to George Pell, was a nun for 22 years before she fell in love with fellow nun Peg Moran. She told SBS’ …
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 …
Disgraced Labor MP slammed for homophobic, misogynistic rants
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has sacked state Labor MP Adem Somyurek from cabinet amid corruption allegations and leaked audio of homophobic, misogynistic and racist tirades. In the recordings on 60 Minutes, the party powerbroker described Young Labor members as “little passive aggressive f—ing gay kids” and gay staffers as “real slimy little f—ers”. “We’ll have …
Victim of botched police raid Nik Dimopoulos sues
Nik Dimopoulos, the Victorian man wrongly arrested and seriously injured in a bungled police raid at queer bookstore Hares and Hyenas, has sued for compensation. Last May, the events promoter was asleep in an apartment at the bookstore in Fitzroy when he heard intruders’ voices. Unknown to Dimopoulos, the intruders were Victoria Police’s Critical Incident …
Michael Kirby appointed Patron of Victorian Pride Centre
The Victorian Pride Centre has marked the start of Pride Month by appointed former High Court Judge Michael Kirby its inaugural Patron, as well as a list of LGBTIQ community ambassadors. The Pride Centre, located in St Kilda and due to open in late 2020, will be an LGBTIQ community hub. The Pride Centre will …
Flood of support for first LGBTI Domestic Violence Awareness Day
Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate, so this Thursday (May 28) is Australia’s inaugural LGBTI Domestic Violence Awareness Day. The initiative aims shine a light on the high levels of domestic violence within Australian LGBTI relationships but low levels of reporting. Ben Bjarnesen, Queensland Police officer, DVConnect board member, and domestic violence survivor, founded the LGBTI Domestic …
New study to support Australian ‘conversion therapy’ survivors
A new study led by a La Trobe University academic will investigate the impact of harmful LGBT “conversion therapy” in Australia. Dr Timothy Jones from the university will head a team researching how to better help survivors of the discredited practices. “Previous research has shown that attempts to change the sexual and gender orientation of …
Melbourne vandals deface Jewish golf club with swastikas and gay slurs
Police are hunting vandals responsible for vile antisemitic and homophobic graffiti at a Jewish-owned golf course in Melbourne. Cranbourne Golf Club’s management said staff and members found the graffiti on the club’s fourth green on Wednesday morning. Vandals had damaged the green by spray-painting Nazi swastikas, a homophobic slur and drawings of penises on the …
Australian Christian Lobby furious about pronouns in email signatures
The Australian Christian Lobby has demanded all levels of government ban public servants from declaring their preferred pronouns in staff email signatures. The group is furious that the City of Melbourne is giving staff the choice of adding a message about whether they’d like to be called “he, she or they” on internal emails. The …
Fifteen regional groups to unite for ‘Pride-solation’ livestream
Fifteen LGBTIQ+ organisations across regional Victoria will come together for a “Pride-Solation” livestream to mark Pride Month. On Saturday, June 20, the Pride-Solation event will bring together more than a dozen regional festivals. The event will showcase musicians, artists, burlesque, cabaret, interviews with community members, and more exciting surprises. Claudia Validum, Country Program Coordinator at …