western australia
Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas slammed for transgender comments
Perth’s newly elected Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has apologised after LGBTIQ advocates slammed “misinformed and demeaning” comments he made about the transgender community. Zempilas declared on his 6PR radio show on Wednesday genitals determined a person’s gender identity and it was “wrong” for someone to identify differently. “If you’ve got a penis mate, you’re a …
Outrage as Perth gay couple kicked out by Ola driver
Rideshare company Ola has suspended one of its Perth drivers, after a viral video shows him kicking a gay couple out of his car. Anthony Price (pictured left), who performs in WA as drag queen Scarlet Adams, posted footage of the incident to his Facebook page. He claimed the driver kicked he partner Jordan Hitch …
Australian bookstore refuses to stock JK Rowling’s books
An Australian bookstore has said it will remove JK Rowling’s books from shelves as a show of support for the transgender community. The Harry Potter author has faced backlash for much of the year over her transphobic Twitter commentary on gender and trans people’s access to identification and healthcare. This week, Rowling faced more criticism …
Perth man jailed after lying about HIV status to sex partners
A Perth man living with HIV has been jailed after failing to disclose his HIV status to four men and having “reckless” unprotected sex. The 30-year-old, who can’t be named to protect the victims, told the men that he didn’t have the virus despite testing positive some years earlier. All four subsequently tested positive, The …
President: God purifies our air! Now he’s dead from COVID-19
President Pierre Nkurunziza promised the citizens of Burundi recently that he negotiated divine protection from the pandemic for the country. Nkurunziza was both murderous despot and born-again Christian. His wife is an ordained minister. She visited Australia last year for the opening of a consulate at Margaret Court’s church. Now, his wife is recovering, and …
Gay venues around Australia react to COVID-19 crowd bans
LGBTIQ nightclubs and bars across Australia have reacted to the federal government’s new coronavirus crowd bans, with some closing their doors indefinitely. On Wednesday (March 18), the federal government banned non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people as Australia responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Brisbane, The Sportsman Hotel said as of Wednesday they …
LGBTIQ events across Australia cancelled due to coronavirus
Several pride festivals are among numerous Australian LGBTIQ events postponed by organisers due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Government has ordered the cancellation of non-essential mass gatherings of over 500 people to limit the spread of COVID-19. This has led to widespread cancellations of community and cultural events across the country, and overseas. On …
Australia’s first documented homosexual act: 1727
Australia’s first documented homosexual act dates to before the First Fleet sailed into Botany Bay. Indeed, it happened even before the birth of James Cook who later claimed the eastern half of the continent for the British Crown. At 3:00 pm on the afternoon of 30 November 1727, two teenage boys enjoyed a sexual encounter …
Straight men outnumber gay men in new HIV cases in WA
A larger number of straight-identifying men in Western Australia were diagnosed with HIV than gay men in the last year. Among men who have sex with men in WA, the number of HIV diagnoses (20) was 51 percent lower this year compared to the previous five-year average. However, among straight-identifying men it was 21 percent …
Same-sex marriage will mean the end of Christmas, Margaret Court says
Margaret Court has returned serve to a Perth tennis club that has voted to dump her as vice-patron. Cottesloe Tennis Club members recently voted against Court’s re-election, a move which the tennis legend slammed as being “politically motivated”. “I think it’s sad. You don’t have the freedom of speech today to really defend yourself,” she …