Australia, Oceania

Technologically advanced and industrialized, Australia is a prosperous multicultural country and has high measures in many international comparisons of national performance such as health care, life expectancy, quality-of-life, human development, public education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. In 1975, the state of South Australia became the first state to legalize sexual conduct between males. Other states and territories repealed their laws between 1976 and 1990. The exception was Tasmania, which retained its laws until the Federal Government and the United Nations Human Rights Committee forced their repeal in 1997. In May 2008, following the election of a more liberal Labor government, legislation was introduced into Parliament to begin altering previous limited conservative laws regarding LGBT citizens. The new statutes will provide equality in tax, health, superannuation, aged care and other areas. The annual Sydney mardi gras is one of the world's premier gay festivals. In 2002 Australia was host to the international Gay Games. 

 

News & Reports:

 

World of male sex workers explored in new book

A new book shines a light on male prostitution and the findings are surprising. Sex work is an industry primarily associated with women. When male sex workers are thought about, it’s usually through the prism of health studies or debate around the legality of their behaviour; they become statistics, or shadowy carriers of disease. Media… Read more »

Australia: Norfolk Island may introduce same-sex marriage this year

Norfolk Island in Australia, could legalise same-sex marriage this year, as plans to introduce legislation have been lodged. The self-governing territory could see a major hike in tourist numbers, if same-sex marriage becomes legal. The legislation which is yet to be introduced, would establish a new law to work alongside the Federal Marriage Act, but… Read more »

Sydney hosts two-month Queer Arab Film Festival

Australia: The Australian city of Sydney is hosting a two-month Queer Arab Film Festival to better understand the problems and challenges Arab, Muslim, Middle-Eastern LGBTIQ community face in a region that has harsh anti-gay laws and prejudices. Classical Arabic and Islamicate literature from the 9th to the 16th centuries was replete with examples of characters… Read more »

Olympic kayak hopeful talks of relief after coming out as gay

An Olympic kayak hopeful has discussed coming out as gay, saying it was a relief, and that he had an overwhelmingly positive reaction. Connor Taras, 25, missed joining the 2012 Canadian Olympic team by half a second, and still travels to the US every winter for training. He said being gay but not out meant… Read more »

Support For Ian Thorpe From Ricky Martin, Gareth Thomas, Matthew Mitcham

Ricky Martin, Gareth Thomas and Matthew Mitcham are among the celebrities applauding Olympian Ian Thorpe’s decision to come out gay. “Congrats @IanThorpe!” out singer Ricky Martin tweeted. “Brave man! Happy for you! Millions appreciate what you’ve done! Proud of you! #SelfLove.” After years of denials, Thorpe, Australia’s most decorated Olympian, acknowledged he’s gay, saying he… Read more »

2 out of 3 LGBTI Australian young people still experience bullying in 2014

A new report by University of Western Sydney researchers has found that bullying is still all too common for LGBTI Australian young people with nearly one-in-ten saying the problem was so bad they had to change schools Almost one-in-ten LGBTI Australian young people has had to change schools because of homophobic bullying and more than… Read more »

Australia high court overturns ACT gay marriage law

Australia’s High Court has overturned legislation allowing gay marriage in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT parliament passed a bill in October making the territory the first part of Australia to legalise same-sex weddings. But the national government challenged the decision, saying it was inconsistent with federal laws. Some 27 couples who married since… Read more »

Gay Couples Begin Marrying In Australian Capital

Gay couples began marrying shortly past midnight in the Australian capital of Canberra as the nation’s first gay marriage law took effect. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the marriages of Alan Wright and Joel Player, who exchanged vows beneath the 55 bronze bells of the National Carillon at Lake Burley Griffin, and Stephen Dawson… Read more »

To stop AIDS, Australia must stand up for human rights

Indonesian activists from World Vision light 2880 candles during a World AIDS Day event in JakartaThis World AIDS Day, the people of Asia and the Pacific, who are living with, and working to prevent HIV, ask that the Australian Government make clear its intention for HIV funding, and stress the importance of Australia’s role as… Read more »

Australian Capital Territory first to legalise same-sex marriage

The Australian Capital Territory has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise same-sex marriage. The bill passed after a short debate today by nine votes to eight, just over a year after federal parliament rejected a same-sex marriage bill 98-42. The move was passed in the 17-member ACT Legislative Assembly, backed by Labor and… Read more »

Gay Marriage Hopes Dashed As Conservatives Return To Power In Australia

Australia’s conservative opposition swept to power on Saturday, ending six years of Labor Party rule and the hopes of gay marriage supporters. “The coalition has won 13 seats clearly and with 10 seats still in play,” Australia’s newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott told supporters gathered at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel. “And I can inform you… Read more »

Tasmanian Upper House defeats provision to ban offensive anti-gay materials

Tasmania’s Upper House of state parliament has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited offensive homophobic materials just a day after the Australian postal service confiscated 38,000 extreme anti-gay election flyers in the state LGBT rights activists in the Australian state of Tasmania have been floored by a decision by the state’s Upper House to… Read more »

Gay Ambassador to Australia Marries in D.C.

John Berry, U.S. ambassador to Australia, married his partner of 17 years, Curtis Yee, on Saturday. John Berry, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Australia, married his longtime partner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, reports the Washington Blade. Berry and his partner, Curtis Yee, have been together for 17 years, and married in a ceremony at… Read more »

Tasmania votes to allow same-sex couples to adopt

The last Australian state to legalize homosexuality, and the first to introduce civil unions, has voted to allow same-sex couples to adopt non-biological children for the first time LGBT rights advocates in the Australian state of Tasmania have welcomed the passage of a law allowing same-sex couples to adopt. Since 2003 gays and lesbians in… Read more »

Marriage equality advocates condemn vandalism of Tasmanian anti-gay marriage billboard

Australian marriage equality advocates have condemned the vandalizing of an anti-gay marriage billboard in the town of Wynyard, Tasmania, just days after it was erected Australian marriage equality advocates have condemned the vandalism of an anti-marriage equality billboard in Wynyard, Tasmania, as well as the business signs of the man behind the billboard, sign maker… Read more »

Same-sex marriages revealed in 1930’s Australia

A newspaper from 1932 shows that Australian gay men were holding illegal same-sex marriages behind closed doors eight decades ago A newspaper article from 1932 has been uncovered that shows that gay men were seeking to marry each other in Australia as long ago as 80 years ago. In an article in the tabloid The… Read more »

State schools better for minority students, says Michael Kirby

Gay Australian former high court judge Michael Kirby says state schools are less discriminatory to minority pupils than private or religious schools Gay Australian former high court judge Michael Kirby said that secular public schools are better for gay pupils and other minorities that private or religious schools. Kirby, who describes himself as a Protestant… Read more »

Anti-gay marriage candidates win Tasmania election

Despite a campaign to make local election all about marriage equality, anti-gay-marriage candidates win all three contested seats in Australian state of Tasmania Two candidates who voted against gay marriage in last year’s Upper House vote in Tasmania won their seats in a local election yesterday. The third victor has also said she would vote… Read more »

A secret history of sexuality on the front

Archived files shed light on relationships in the army, writes Andrew Stephens. It was a hot night in Borneo and eight Australian soldiers were sitting around discussing film stars they fancied. The war had just ended – Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ashes – but most soldiers in Asia remained on active duty in the all-male… Read more »

Thousands march for marriage equality in Australia

Thousands took to the streets this weekend in support of marriage equality, while the Australian Green party has pledged to move legislation in every parliament in the land until the issue is settled Nearly a thousand people marched for marriage equality in central Sydney on Sunday, with thousands more marching in other cities over the… Read more »

Tasmanian gay marriage bill defeated

Gay marriage advocates have vowed to keep campaigning as numbers mount against them in the first attempt at pioneering state-based same sex marriage. The numbers for reform in Tasmania were lost tonight when the eighth voice against the bill was declared in the 15 member state upper house, the Legislative Council. Australian Marriage Equality spokesman… Read more »

Constructions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer identities among young people in contemporary Australia.

Source – College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University , UK. Abstract This paper focuses on young people’s construction of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) identities in contemporary Australia. Through the perspectives of young people, it seeks to position their understanding of LGBQ identities alongside current theoretical and empirical debates about the individual and… Read more »

Australian Senate Joins House In Rejecting Gay Marriage Bill

The Australian Senate on Thursday rejected a bill which would have legalized gay marriage in the country. The Senate voted 41 to 26 against the measure. Yesterday, the House of Representatives defeated the measure with a 98 to 42 vote. Liberal Senator Sue Boyce broke ranks with her party during debate on the bill. “Gay… Read more »

Australia votes against legalising equal marriage

Lawmakers in the Australian Parliament have overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have introduced equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The House of Representatives voted 98-42 against the legislation last night. It was the first of four bills introduced to the parliament that aimed to lift the country’s ban on same-sex marriage. A separate bill… Read more »

Australian doctor banned for prescribing gay ‘cure’ to teen

An Australian doctor has been severely reprimanded and banned from working as a general practitioner after prescribing a drug to a teen who came to him for help to “cure” his homosexuality. An Australian doctor who is a member of the Exclusive Brethren Christian sect has been banned from practising as a General Practitioner after… Read more »

Australia: Premiers of South Australia and Tasmania promise same-sex marriage

The premiers of South Australia and Tasmania say that they will legislate to introduce same-sex marriage regardless of what Australian federal Prime Minister Julia Gillard or parliament does. While there are two marriage equality bills before the federal parliament, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told gay rights campaigners at a rally in Adelaide that he… Read more »

Tasmania Plans Gay Marriage Law, Pressuring Australia’s Gillard

Tasmania’s Premier Lara Giddings will move to legalize same-sex marriage on the island, making it the first Australian state to approve gay unions and intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to follow suit. “We will be leading the way for the rest of Australia to follow,” Giddings, 39, told a ruling state Labor Party… Read more »

‘Gay panic’ killer walks free after four years

An Australian man who killed a man he claimed had made a gay pass at him has walked free after only four years in jail after using the so-called ‘gay panic defense’ to downgrade a murder charge to manslaughter An Australian killer who claimed his victim made a gay pass at him has walked free… Read more »

Tasmania: 250 attend vigil at ‘Excellent Marriage’ anti-gay marriage conference

250 people attended a vigil outside an anti-marriage equality conference in Tasmania last night as it was revealed the winning video message in the conference’s competition to define an ‘excellent marriage’ was from a gay man. The Excellent Marriage conference was attended by around 350 organisers said today, with an address by former senator Guy… Read more »

Australian former judge says he is a ‘second-class citizen’ because he cannot marry

Retired High Court of Australia judge is questioned by senate inquiry into legalising same-sex marriage Micheal Kirby, former High Court of Australia judge Retired judge Michael Kirby reached the pinnacle of his profession and served on the High Court of Australia for 13 years, but despite this he said today that he is a ‘second-class… Read more »

Australia: Former High Court judge speaks up for equal marriage

A former High Court judge in Australia, in testifying to a parliamentary inquiry into equal marriage, has said that all rights afforded to heterosexual citizens should also be afforded to LGBT citizens. Michael Kirby, 73, and in a relationship with his partner for 43 years, said: “My brother is left-handed and I was gay [sic].”… Read more »

Matthew Mitcham happy to be seen as an LGBT icon

The Australian Olympic champion, Matthew Mitcham, has said that he’s happy to be seen as an icon for the LGBT community, and did not mind the attention that would be drawn to his personal life as a result. Mr Mitcham, 24, came out shortly before the Beijing olympics, where he won the 10-meter platform event,… Read more »

Poll: Australia leads Britain and US in support for equal marriage

Australia is leading Britain and the US in its support for the implementation of equal gay marriage rights, a poll released today suggests. An equal right for gay couples to marry had 49 percent support in Australia, 43 percent support in Britain and 42 percent support in the US, the Angus Reid Public Opinion survey… Read more »

Gay Asians fight stereotypes

A new magazine hopes to reach gay men in Asian communities – both in Australia and abroad – in a fight against cultural stereotypes and sexual hierarchy. Video The magazine’s editor and some contributors told SBS about their vision for the groundbreaking publication, in an environment rife with racism and misconceptions. The editor of A-Men,… Read more »

Hon. Michael Kirby Calls for Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Asia Pacific

Retired Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby has called on Asian and Pacific nations to decriminalise homosexuality. Mr Kirby told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific program that in 41 of 54 Commonwealth nations, laws against homosexuals are still “steadfastly in force… They [the laws] isolate people, stigmatise them, and make them second-class citizens,” he said. Mr… Read more »

Catholic priest wins ‘gay panic defence’ fight

The Queensland government has announced it will make the changes necessary to ensure ‘gay panic’ cannot be raised as a partial defence to murder. Recommendations to amend the Criminal Code have been made after a petition by a Catholic priest garnered more than 25,000 signatures and international support. So-called “gay panic” has been invoked by… Read more »

Regional action needed on homophobia

Australian gay rights activists have called on the Gillard Government to take a stronger stand on LGBTI rights in the region following the release of a United Nations report into high levels of violence faced by LGBTI people worldwide. The report was released in Geneva last week after a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution… Read more »

Australian Psychological Society backs call for equal marriage rights

The Society backed the American Psychological Associations August resolutionThe Society backed the American Psychological Associations August resolution The Australian Psychological Society has officially given its support to full marriage equality for gay couples, adding the voice of its 20,000 members to the debate. The group’s board approved an endorsement of the American Psychological Association’s resolution… Read more »

Sydney LGBTI leaders speak of hopes and wishes for 2012

Sydney – Marriage equality, rapid HIV testing, an expansion of services for LGBTIQ youth in need, and anti-discrimination laws that offer every person protection no matter what their sexuality, gender or sex identity, are a few of the things that some of the country’s leading LGBTI bodies and community groups will be fighting for and… Read more »

Bill repeal will traumatise gays: psych

Repealing laws allowing same sex couples to form civil unions will cause psychological damage to gays and lesbians, a psychologist says. Independent Queensland MP Rob Messenger on Tuesday announced he would put forward a private member’s bill after the state election to repeal the same-sex civil union bill passed recently by Queensland parliament. Brisbane-based psychologist… Read more »