Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 15:57:44 -0500 [ Send all responses to leto@WERPLE.MIRA.NET.AU only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Brother Sister is a fortnightly newspaper published in Melbourne, VIC and Brisbane, QLD, Australia. I have selected the main news items as well as items of interest. If you have any contributions or questions, please e-me on (leto@werple.mira.net.au). Subscription information follows news items. NB: If you are representing overseas media and wish to utilise any of the following material, please use the entire story (including by-line if there is one) and credit Brother Sister as your source. Thank You. Brendon Wickham ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALERT FOR GAY HATE GROUP Members of the Gay Men And Lesbians Against Discrimination group are concerned that there may be a new anti-gay campaign organised in Melbourne. Days after Victorian Premier Jeff Kennet announced that legislation outlawing discrimination against gays and lesbians would be introduced, a pamphlet encouraging anti-gay violence was seized from a printers workshop. Under the headline of "STOP AIDS KILL FAGS", a group calling themselves Gay Bashers Of Australia write that they are serving "common folk of Australia by doing what is right 'destroying faggots'." The pamphlet, which carries no name or address, goes on to say, "We are fighting for our recognition by cleaning up the garbage off the streets and neighbourhoods to make a safe environment for our kids to grow up and reproduce in for a better future." Lobbyists for the discrimination legislation fear this may be a direct response to Kennett's announcement as it states, "Society today is led to believe that being gay is right, gays are treated better then (sic) us common folk in this world, they get special rights, they can do and say as they please. "Gay rights have gone too far. We are an organisation that exists to destroy what rights they get from vote hungry politicians. We being the common folk of Australia stand for what it right, and that's humanity." The group also make the claim that they are not a violent organisation "because you can't classify violence towards worthless people in society". Later in the pamphlet they recommend use of aluminium baseball bats for a "perfect result" in bashing "fags", concluding with the slogan "Join us in a perfect world". Chief Inspector John Winther, the Gay Liaison Officer in Melbourne, says the police are unaware of the existence of a group calling itself the Gay Bashers Of Australia and are unsure if the pamphlet is intended to be a practical joke or serious. If the pamphlet is a serious effort to rally yobs into gay bashing, there are extra fears that, because of the wording, the pamphlets content has been lifted from British sources. Currently in Britain, Nazi groups have been found with gay 'hit lists' and are also distributing propaganda that praises a recent spate of gay serial killings. David Studham, a spokesperson for the gay and lesbian discrimination lobby group says that they are "outraged" by the existence of the pamphlet, even if it is someone's idea of a practical joke. "This call to violence," claims Studham, "against lesbian and gay men in this state only reinforces the sad statistics from (our) report that public violence affects 70% of lesbians and 69% of gay men. Studham adds, "We need anti-discrimination now, and a statement from our government that violence against lesbian and gay men is illegal and will not be tolerated in our society." Commenting on the possibilities of the pamphlet being a joke, Studham describes it as a "very, very sick one." It has been almost three years since Victoria was subjected to an organised anti-gay campaign, which originated from a Christian sect in Gippsland, with the latest outburst much more violently motivated. The police have pointed out though, that unlike NSW and Western Australia, this state has not suffered an increase in gay and lesbian bashings over summer. MUSEUMS HEAR GAY VOICE Australian museums are being recommended to collect and display artefacts pertaining to gay and lesbian history and culture. A policy has been drafted by Museums Australia, an amalgamation of museum associations from around the country, that suggests curators need to represent gay and lesbian culture in their collections. Following a similar review that looked at museums obligations to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in 1993, they are now hoping to broaden exhibits of other "traditionally marginalised" communities, including women. The paper states the several reasons for gay and lesbian inclusion. It mentions that it is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sexuality in most states and that this has become an international debate that has raised the level of importance of gay and lesbian issues on a local level. On a more grassroots level, the paper says that as taxpayers, gays and lesbians should be seeing themselves represented in museums. It also believes that it would be a useful too against homophobia. The paper also insists that this inclusion will make museums culturally diverse instead of only representing "the dominant culture (white Anglo/Saxon and male) and a singular view. The paper also proposes guidelines for collection development, research as well as for having a specific gay and lesbian exhibitions and related public programs. In a section of the paper entitled 'Specific Action', Museums Australia suggest that their policies should "challenge stereotypical representations of gay men and lesbians" and "seek to represent the diversity of gay and lesbian communities". They also encourage seeking direct advice from within the community so as to guarantee authentic documentation and presentation. At the end of the paper they note, "This is not asking museums to advocate homosexuality. Rather it is an acknowledgment that museums have perpetuated a cultural conspiracy that has omitted the existence of different sexualities from within the mainstream vision of Australia." MARDI GRAS PARTY TICKETS SOLD OUT Many people found themselves without tickets to Sydney's 1995 Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Party when it was announced that the event had sold out earlier this week. At 1pm on February 6, Mardi Gras sold all of the 19,000 tickets to the party. A press release was issued stating that all overseas and interstate orders that were faxed through prior to that time will have their orders filled. This year tickets were only sold to Mardi Gras members, those visiting Sydney for the party were able to obtain associate membership, with membership being increased to 6,000 due to unprecedented demand. TASTY INVESTIGATIONS There have been further complaints of police harassing victims of last years Tasty raid. Several people have now complained of police arriving at their homes, late at night, and being questioned about their Tasty member status. Police Gay Liaison Officer, Chief Inspector John Winther has described these visits as "normal" procedure in an investigation related to liquor licensing. The police claim to be trying to ascertain whether or not there was an illegal amount of non-members at the club on the night of the raid. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subscription to Brother Sister is available for USD$100 per annum. Send money order and address information to: Brother Sister 67 Bevan Street Albert Park VIC 3206 AUSTRALIA