Victoria
Man charged with murder over 1987 suspected ‘gay hate’ killing
Police have arrested and charged a man with murder for the fatal 1987 bashing of Sydney man Raymond Keam in a cold case breakthrough. A member of the public found Raymond Keam’s body in grass at Alison Park in Randwick on January 13, 1987. A post mortem examination and 1988 coronial inquest found the father-of-four …
Two gay penguin couples have paired up at Melbourne aquarium
Melbourne’s Sea Life aquarium has said two gay penguin couples in their colony have paired up for their nesting season. Gentoo penguins are monogamous and mate for life, and same-sex pairings are not uncommon both in captivity and in the wild. The Melbourne aquarium says in their gentoo penguin colony, duos Tiger and Branston and …
Far-right extremist jailed for homophobic tirade in inclusive church
A Victorian judge has jailed far-right extremist Neil Erikson after he filmed himself entering an LGBTIQ+ friendly church and hurling homophobic abuse at parishioners. A Melbourne Magistrates Court judge sentenced the 36-year-old on Friday after finding him guilty of disturbing a religious service, AAP reported. In May 2019, he entered the LGBTIQ-inclusive Metropolitan Community Church …
Ad watchdog gets homophobic complaints about these gay ads
Victorian LGBTIQ+ organisation Thorne Harbour Health has hit out at homophobic complaints against its longest-running gay men’s sexual health campaign. Since 2008, Thorne Harbour’s “The Drama Downunder” campaign has promoted STI testing and gay men’s sexual health and wellbeing. To do so, they use models wearing white briefs to bust stigma around discussing sexual health. …
Casey Donovan opens up about relationship with girlfriend Renee
Casey Donovan has opened up about her girlfriend Renee Sharples as the couple get set to celebrate one year together soon. The entertainer said she connected with Renee, a paramedicine lecturer, on dating app Bumble during isolation in Victoria’s long lockdown last year. During lockdown, the couple said they spent hours on the phone, and …
Lesbian couple left heartbroken by ‘cruel’ IVF law
A same-sex couple in Victoria, Lissa and Kariah Koehler, have called for a “cruel and heartbreaking” IVF law in their state to be changed. The couple are mums to a three-year-old girl, and say they had “hoped and dreamed” to give her a sibling when the time was right. For the last five years, Lissa …
Outcry over Melbourne vandal’s sick homophobic, Nazi graffiti
LGBTIQ+ Jewish advocates have condemned a vandal who carved a swastika and a vile anti-gay slur into concrete in Melbourne. Gardiners Trail is a pedestrian footpath that winds along Gardiners Creek through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Victorian-based LGBTIQ Jewish group Aleph Melbourne reported to council a vandal’s carving of a swastika and the words “Kill Gays” …
Victoria’s groundbreaking Pride Centre is officially open
Australia’s first purpose-built LGBTIQ+ community hub, the Victorian Pride Centre, is officially open to the community. The Pride Centre, located on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, is Australia’s largest hub of its type for queer communities. The centre is now housing fifteen of the state’s LGBTIQ organisations and officially opened on Sunday (July 11). At …
Victorian man fined for attack on gay neighbour over rainbow house
A judge has fined a man in Victoria after he verbally assaulted his neighbour over plans to paint his Phillip Island house rainbow. Mykey O’Halloran (pictured above centre), a professional hair artist, moved in to his bungalow on Victoria’s Phillip Island in February. However a month later, O’Halloran said neighbour Jai Ryan heard about his …
ABC’s Australian Story profiles top gender doctor Michelle Telfer
ABC’s Australian Story program will tonight spotlight paedetrician Associate Professor Michelle Telfer, the head of the Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne’s Gender Service. Dr Telfer (pictured) is a world leader in treating gender dysphoria in trans and gender diverse young people. She’s guided hundreds of transgender children through their first steps to transitioning over the last …