Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 17:44:43 +1000 From: leto@rabbit.com.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 19/9/96 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue #115 - 19/9/96 Including: 1. Minister to slash visas 2. Research for herbal therapy 3. Queenslanders to lose protection 4. Violence increase in Adelaide 5. Mardi Gras appointments This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point your URL to http://werple.net.au/~leto/news - or go through the Pacific Region of the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ MINISTER TO SLASH VISAS *The Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock, threatened this week to slash the amount of interdependency visas issued for both gay and lesbian couples.* The new quota has allowed for only 100 off-shore visas, those applied for from overseas, and 200 on-shore visas, those applied for from within Australia, to be granted for 1996-7. Anyone applying after the limit has been reached will have to wait until the following year. In the past, departmental statistics recorded that permanent resident status was granted to 650 gay and lesbian partners in one financial year. The Minister plans to extend the required period of cohabitation for on-shore couples from 6 to 24 months before the applications can be lodged. Keith Stodden, Convenor for the Gay and Lesbian Immigration Task Force told Brother Sister, "Imposing the two-year cohabitation period before even applying will make obtaining visas very hard if not impossible for many gay and lesbian couples. "The Minister's plans indicate that gay and lesbian couples do not have a high priority." Ruddock plans to bring the off-shore visa requirements into line with on-shore visas. Since 1989, the period of cohabitation for off-shore partners has been 30 months, and, subject to its approval, permanent residency is granted on arrival. Ruddock is now moving to extend this period to 48 months before an application for permanent residency can be lodged. The government claims to be annoyed by the number of partners who immediately leave their sponsor after permanent residency is granted. Attacking those claims, Stodden says, "As with marriage, sometimes break-ups do occur, but the government sees this as people cheating the system." Other legislature changes being proposed include the cancellation of migrants' Social Security benefits for the two-year cohabitation period. Therefore the sponsor will be made financially responsible for their partner whilst awaiting residency. Immigration fees are also set to increase. At present the cost of applying within Australia is $875.00. As of the first of January, it will be $1,500, payable in one lump sum. Stodden says that objection to the proposed changes on the grounds of discrimination is difficult because de facto heterosexuals are subject to the same treatment. A spokesperson for the Immigration Minister claims that "the reduction of interdependency visas is in range with other categories that have been reduced far more substantially." The Taskforce encourages couples to lodge their on-shore and off-shore applications before the Act is altered. Lee-Anne Richards RESEARCH FOR HERBAL THERAPY *Victorians will soon be taking part in scientific trials of herbal treatments for HIV/AIDS.* The research, which has already begun in other parts of the country, will investigate if a four-herb combination can help boost the immune system for people living with HIV/AIDS. They also hope to discover if that combination can relieve symptoms that may be brought on by other HIV/AIDS-related drugs. Major herbal companies, Blackmores and Nature's Sunshine Products, have endorsed the research along with major HIV/AIDS organisations around the country. The combination of herbs includes echinacea, St John's wort, siberian ginseng or eleutherococcus and astragalus, each considered either an immune system booster or tissue regenerator. Organised by the Complementary Trials group, the research project, known as the KM1 Herbal Formula trial, is hoping to try out the combination on 200 people in this country. Jan Kneen-McDaid, a representative of Complementary Trials Inc., has described the corporate endorsement as a "major breakthrough". The announcement of the endorsements came just prior to a forum held by the Trials group in Melbourne on September 8. Kneen-McDaid added, "The breadth of support for this trial is most encouraging. "We can now add the commercial wing of complementary therapy to those doctors and affected communities as well as the naturopaths and other professionals supporting this trial." Kneen-McDaid, a naturopath herself, has previously worked in Mozambican refugee camps helping treat people living with HIV/AIDS. QUEENSLANDERS TO LOSE PROTECTION *Queensland laws protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination came under threat this week.* Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, John Briton, has called for voters to stand up and demand that their state government continue to preserve and protect the basic human rights inherent in the existence of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act and the Commission (QADC). Acknowledging the rumours in Brisbane last week, Briton said it was true that "serious consideration is being given, at senior levels of government, to move responsibility for the investigation and conciliation of complaints of discrimination and sexual harassment out of the hands of an independent QADC and to give it over to staff of the magistrates court". Representatives from the gay and lesbian community were among the two hundred people who attended a meeting called by the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties Monday, September 9 to urgently discuss the future of the the commission and its work. Both the status of the commission and the scope of the legislation are under question in a bid by the government to cut costs. Jane Downing, spokesperson for the Australian Council for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Rights says she is astonished by yet another incident of the white middle class heterosexual male populace, in the guise of the Coalition Government, "shoring up the bastions of power by alienating the margins." Downing also added, "The wider philosophical issue here is about the erosion of social justice, the casualty of a mainstream population that seems to be condoning the action by their lack of opposition." In his address to the stakeholders, Briton said the maintenance of the anti-discrimination act was essential if we are to ensure we get "a fair go" be we "aboriginal, Asian, disabled, gay, pregnant, too old, too young, have the wrong religion or don't have the right politics-then we have not only moral outrage to fall back on but a right of action in law". Such rights will be rescinded if the Queensland government folds the now independent commission functions into the Magistrates Court services, he said. Briton claimed the proposed commission changes are without his involvement and encouraged a community groundswell of pressure through letters, faxes and phone calls to relevant ministers before Cabinet considers the changes. Queensland AIDS Council spokesperson Adrian Lovney says he is shocked at such a backward step by the government. "Aside from the fundamental question of human rights...it is imperative that we operate in a supportive legal environment to ensure minimal transmission of HIV/AIDS." Loveney added that the idea that the act could be "administered by public servants" subverts the independence of the Commission that "gay men and lesbians have come to trust". Rea Dennis VIOLENCE INCREASE IN ADELAIDE *There has been a sharp increase in reports of anti-gay violence in Adelaide over the past few months.* The main area of concern is the central city area, with many violent incidents occurring. Some victims have required hospitalisation. The bashings have involved lesbians and gays and in some cases people perceived as gay or lesbian. Two weekends ago saw several reports of violence. The most disturbing involved a group of lesbians who were out partying on a Saturday night and were verbally abused and harrassed by a group of young men outside a Hungry Jacks on their way home. One man then followed the women to their car and grabbed one of them by the hair and dragged her away and began to punch her in the face. One of the woman's friends came and finally scared the attacker off. The number of reports of violence against lesbians and gays has significantly increased over the last few months, but 95% of the people who are reporting the attacks to various gay organisations and the gay and lesbian press say they have not reported the incident to police. Adelaide GT MARDI GRAS APPOINTMENTS Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has announced that Jonathon Parsons and Suzanne Boccolatte have been appointed as Director and Designer respectively, of the 1997 Mardi Gras Festival. "The Festival is often a starting combination of community celebration, polished mainstage production and raw alternative works. I want to continue to incorporate this dynamic range of expressions," said Parsons. "Designing the look for a Mardi Gras season is one of the most exciting and high profile jobs in this industry," commented Boccolatte. "I just can't wait to sink my teeth into it!" =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE Smartarse by Jeffrey Smart THE SISTERHOOD OF SLEAZE I used to think I was a homosexual, but it has now become obvious that I'm not. My Gay Identity Card has been recalled because I haven't met all of the Conditions of Use. Once upon a time you were a poof if you wore white socks to school. You were a dyke if you failed to stop being a tomboy in year 10. I didn't even know what a homosexual was until about year 8 (I was a late developer), but everyone was calling me one. As my wrists grew limper and my interest in amateur musicals blossomed feverishly it seemed that my fate was sealed; I was an Official Homosexual. It didn't matter what I did. I had girlfriends, I talked about straight sex with the blokes, I perfected an alarming swagger, but still they all thought I was a poof. I stopped wearing white socks and went onto red, so they changed the rules without warning and suddenly everything from pink to scarlet in the sock department classified you instantly as a nancy. It's a relief today to call myself a member of the gay community and to know what it takes to be a screaming queen. I've passed all the milestones which are set for full membership of the club; I've had a boyfriend, I've come out to my parents, I'm out at work, I've been to warehouse parties and I wear Calvin Klein underwear. I haven't been to Club 80 or Porter Street, so I suppose I can't call myself hardcore queer, but I'll get there one day. What a surprise to have discovered, therefore, that not only am I not gay but I'm probably also a Straight Infiltrator of the Sisterhood! I was quizzed the other day about my intentions come early October: "Are you going to Sydney for Sleaze?" "No," I replied without hesitation. "Have you ever BEEN?" my interrogator snarled. "No. I haven't been to Mardi Gras either." "And you call yourself a HOMOSEXUAL?" I haven't been to Mardi Gras or Sleazeball, therefore I am not a homosexual. It's a bit longer than "I think therefore I am", but it is just as significant. Most of the straight people I know have been to Mardi Gras at least three times; I've only ever seen it on the telly. From the reaction of the zealots you'd reckon I was saying, "On ya Fred Nile; stop the parade, cancel Sleaze, they're all a pack of dirty pillow biting sinners!" by not flying up to Sydney for these events. And it's not just me. Every now and again another poof or dyke will confess quietly, "I haven't been to one either." It's always a hushed and furtive admission, not something you can crow proudly from the top of the bar at Virgin Mary's. Well I don't care, I'm just not going. You can call me a big butch straight boy all you like, but I'm not going to Sleaze in October and I bet I won't be at Mardi Gras in March. Does that mean I have to start sleeping with GIRLS? Jeffrey Smart =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Brother Sister is a fortnightly newspaper published in Melbourne, VIC and Brisbane, QLD, Australia. I have selected the main news stories as well as items of interest. Overseas media who utilise any or all of the above material please credit Brother Sister as your source (and by-line if it is listed). Thank you. Brendon Wickham