Date: Sat, 21 Oct 1995 12:33:44 -0500 From: leto@werple.net.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 16/10/95 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue 91 Including: 1. Fairfield's HIV Research Centre may join Alfred Hospital 2. 'Panic Defence' under attack 3. Trany's win in NSW 4. QLD government bans amyl (poppers) 5. Students fund queer officer 6. ALSO looks at action agenda This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point your URL to http://werple.mira.net.au/~leto/news/index - or go through the Pacific Region of the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ RESEARCH MAY JOIN ALFRED *In a further blow to the viability of Fairfield Hospital, its HIV research centre, Macfarlane Burnet is actively canvassing a move to the Alfred Hospital.* The director of the centre, Professor Mills told Brother Sister there were strong reasons for moving to the Alfred: "They are able to give us a medium-sized, free-standing building that is purpose built for laboratory research and we would be able to build upon their already substantial HIV/AIDS services." This development by the MacFarlane Burnet Centre is a boost to the Alfred, which has been somewhat on the outer in recent discussions regarding the future of HIV services. The Centre's collaboration with the Alfred is revealed in a discussion paper prepared by the Eastern Care Health Network. The Victorian Infectious Diseases Services paper reveals the Macfarlane Burnet Centre "has indicated a preference for relocating to the Alfred Hospital campus" which strengthens the Alfred's own chances of both survival in the State Government's current hospitals shake-up and in taking over Fairfield's HIV role. The Macfarlane Burnet Centre's alignment with the Alfred not only puts that hospital at the forefront of the battle for hospital dollars but also flies in the face of recent recommendations made by the Metropolitan Hospitals Planning Board. The board's report Statewide And Cross Network Services suggests that St Vincent's and the Royal Melbourne take over Fairfield's HIV services. Mills is a co-signatory on the letter accompanying the discussion paper that also recommends a cross-network service for infectious diseases with the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The MacFarlane Burnet Centre has played an integral role in HIV research in this state and its location will be an important deciding factor when the Government makes its final decision on Victorian hospitals' futures. Although Mills admits his centre has been collaborating with the Alfred, he says that it is "only one of a number of locations that are being looked at for the centre, including St Vincent's and other institutions that are not hospitals". Mills denies that the centre has entered into any written agreement with the Alfred. "The Alfred Hospital has not made an offer yet, these are only preliminary talks," he said. Mills said there were a number of issues surrounding its location at Fairfield, that while being solvable were causing dissatisfaction. "There are issues about tenancy with which I'm not pleased and they are stopping us from experiencing a nurturing relationship," says Mills. Planning Coordinator for the Eastern Health Care Network and co-author of the discussion paper, Alison Hutchison, believes that the relocation of the Macfarlane Burnet Centre to the Alfred would be ideal. "We have received quite a lot of positive feedback since the discussion paper has been published," says Hutchison but she remains uncertain as to the Government's decision- making process from now. Hutchison hopes that even if the relocation of the centre does not eventuate that other suggestions made in the report will be followed up. "The Alfred will continue to be in HIV/AIDS service regardless of Fairfield's future." Other suggestions in the report include focussing on outreach and home-based services as well as providing space for additional HIV/AIDS services to be located at the hospital, this would include room for community groups. General manager of the Victorian Aids Council, Bernard Gardiner, says the council is looking over proposals from different health care networks, including the northern group that encompasses the Fairfield. "We are circulating the information and are providing people opportunities to give us feedback," explains Gardiner, "then we will take a position." Andrew Mast 'PANIC' DEFENCE UNDER ATTACK *The mother of slain gay man Stephen Dempsey arrived in Sydney last week to attend the committal hearing of the two people charged with his murder.* The hearing took place just one week before a planned community groups' protest against the so-called 'homosexual panic defence' which has been used successfully in a number of murder cases. Lulu Dempsey journeyed from New Zealand to scatter the ashes of her 34 year old son, who was killed by an arrow in August last year, at Pittwater. Richard Leonard, 22, and Denise Shipley, 19, were committed for trial at Manly Court this week. Legal observers are waiting to see if Leonard employs the 'homosexual panic defence', after initially alleging Dempsey made sexual advances toward him prior to the killing. Police allege Leonard shot Dempsey with an arrow when Dempsey made homosexual advances towards him on August 2 last year. Leonard submerged Dempsey's body in a creek before returning that night to dismember it and take the pieces home in garbage bags, police allege. He had put the bags with the body parts into his refrigerator. About two weeks after the murder, Leonard allegedly started a relationship with Shipley, whom he had met at a church group session at the Mona Vale Christian Life Centre. Shipley moved in with Leonard and in November he allegedly told her about the body. On November 21 they formed a plan to dump the body into Pittwater, the court heard. Dempsey's body, minus his arms, legs and head, was found wrapped in wire mesh washed ashore at Towlers Bay, Pittwater, on December last year. In another statement of facts, the Crown said that - three days before dumping Dempsey's body - the couple, tripping on LSD, murdered taxi driver Ezzedine Bahmad, through stabbing 37 times. On October 22, a coalition of community groups will stage a rally in Taylor Square to draw attention to the issue of homosexual panic defence. The Transgender Liberation Coalition (TLC) organised the protest after the recent sentencing of 21 year old Thomas Dunn, whose prosecution for murder ended with a reduced conviction for manslaughter after a South Coast jury took into account the fact that his victim was wearing women's clothes. TLC spokesperson Aidy Griffin said: "Enough is enough. The judicial system is failing those [in the gay, lesbian and transgender communities] who have been assaulted and murdered." She said the rally will be held to keep attention focused on the NSW Attorney-General's current review of cases involving homosexual panic defence. Commenting on the spate of murders over the last year, AVP co-ordinator Bruce Grant said that so far in 1995 anti-gay and lesbian assaults were actually down. However, he said that levels of tension had increased, including concern over perceptions of injustice in the judicial system. Grant said homosexual panic defence will be just one of the issues touched upon in a major upcoming conference, sponsored by the Australian Institute of Criminology. The first national Conference on Violence Against Gays and Lesbians, which will take place over October 27-28 at the University of Sydney, will be opened by federal Justice Minister Duncan Kerr. Ben Widdicombe, SSO NSW TRANYS WIN *Trany reforms took a major step forward last week after the NSW State Cabinet agreed to include tranys in the Anti Discrimination Act and allow post-operative tranys to change their birth certificates.* The breakthrough clears the way for Parliament to debate the tranys reforms and pass legislation. Attorney-General Jeff Shaw, who took the proposals to Cabinet and Caucus, said Parliament will be asked to amend the Anti Discrimination Act and the Birth Deaths and Marriages Act within the next few weeks. "There's broad support for the proposals, and I expect Parliament will see the logic of including transgenders in the anti-discrimination laws. It will protect an oppressed minority from discrimination in employment and many other areas." Shaw said he believes Parliament will also support amendments to the Births Death and Marriages Act. He said the birth certificate proposal meets the objectives of most post-operative transsexuals, that tranys "shouldn't be afflicted with a birth certificate that is not suited to them" and that Parliament is likely to endorse a change. Shaw noted that the reforms are due largely to extensive work on the issue by the Transgender Liberation Coalition (TLC). He said separate proposals to have same sex relationships legally recognised will go before Cabinet soon. "This is history. It's taken us three years to get transgender rights considered as something other than an abstract notion," said TLC spokesperson Aidy Griffin. "We're delighted the Government has seen the justice of our demands and committed itself to acting on trany rights. This is a major victory for the entire trany community. "This outcome is a complete vindication of the radical approach adopted by TLC some three years ago. The numbers in both houses of Parliament are committed and confirmed, so there should be no difficulty ensuring the quick passage of these long-overdue reforms. "Nonetheless, we will not relax until the reforms have gone through the Parliament and are law." A straw poll of Labor MPs supports Shaw and Griffin's assessment of Parliamentary support. When contacted, the Labor MPs Reba Meagher, Sandra Nori and Faye Lo Po said they support the trany reforms and oppose discrimination in any form. MP Paul O'Grady said he wasn't present at Tuesday's Caucus meeting which discussed the trany proposals. He said he was comfortable with the reforms. Bligh MP Clover Moore, who put forward a Private Member's Bill on trany rights last November, said she was delighted by the Shaw proposals and would give them her full support. Dominic O'Grady, SSO QLD MOVES ON AMYL NB: Amyl nitrate or amyl for short is how poppers is known in Australia and NZ. *The Queensland Health Department last week moved on a number of sex shops for illegally selling the aphrodisiac liquid amyl nitrate.* A spokesperson for Queensland Health said amyl nitrate is a Schedule Four drug and should only be available by prescription throughout Australia. People in possession of the drug without prescription could be charged even if they bought it by mail order from other states or overseas. Manufacturers had been bypassing the law by marketing bottles of amyl and nitrates as 'aromas', and selling the drug from $16.00 to $25.00 per bottle. Queensland Health last week analysed aromas marketed as Rush, Nova and Moongold before, forcing those and similar products off the shelves. Researchers claim experiments on mice at the University of Arkansas had revealed a connection between amyl nitrate abuse and the development of Karposi's Sarcoma, a once rare cancer, which is now common in HIV positive gay men. The Queensland AIDS Council education officer, Jeffrey Sheather, said the most recent research he had seen linked a form of the herpes virus to Karposi's Sarcoma and did not mention amyl nitrate at all. He said the drug was very cheap to buy wholesale yet expensive retail, making it a lucrative product. He said he had heard of one retailer who used the drug as part of his aromatherapy business. Iain Clacher STUDENTS FUND QUEER OFFICER *Melbourne University's Student Union has created a position for Australia's first queer officer.* The role of the queer officer is to represent and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-heterosexual- identifying students. Cameron Cutts, one of the Union members who instigated the officer's position, says that the role was initially suggested by the 'Visions For The Union' working group. The group's research found that though gay groups did exist on campus, such as Gaysoc and Girlzone, because of the transient nature of university there was no continuity in the institute's queer presence. Cutts believes that the paid position of the queer officer will set up a strong foundation for tackling issues that queer students encounter. It is hoped that a queer officer will be able to help in situations where queer students, forced to leave home, have difficulty obtaining Austudy along with other gay and lesbian related campus issues, as well as beat outreach work, safe-sex promotion and general queer education. Despite reports of right-wing groups stacking the gathering of 260 students that participated in the vote for the officer position, 195 voted in favour, 35 voted against and the rest abstained. Members of the Young Liberals are now contesting the outcome of the vote and are threatening court action. Fears are also mounting that right wing groups will run a candidate for the queer officer position in the elections that will be held at the beginning of next year. It is believed they hope to win the title and sabotage its role on campus. Cutts maintains that protests about the position are only coming from a noisy minority and says: "The campus in general is quite enlightened. The acceptance is out there." While some interstate campuses already have officers dealing with gay issues, normally titled gay/lesbian officer or sexualities officer, it is the first such officer of its type in Victoria and the first known as queer in Australia. The queer title was chosen, according to Cutts: "Because we felt that a gay or lesbian title would exclude bisexuals and transgenderists. A sexualities title leaves you open to the danger of heterosexuals wanting to advocate for heterosexual students, and I'm sure there's enough of that." Cutts believes that the introduction of the queer officer ensures an added sense of security to queer students. He says: "It guarantees that a queer student will always be represented at the University." Andrew Mast ALSO LOOKS AT ACTION AGENDA *The ALSO Foundation is preparing an 'Agenda for Action' report into the health and welfare needs of the lesbian and gay community in Victoria.* The organisation's newly formed Health and Welfare Working Party is currently compiling a draft report due to be released early next year. ALSO board member, Rosemaree McGuinness said that by encompassing the views of people concerned with lesbian, gay and allied community health and welfare needs, the working party could produce an invaluable resource. "Such a report could form the basis of negotiations with government and other agencies and ultimately lead to an improvement in the health and welfare of the many groups within our communities." She said it could also be the much needed impetus for further research funded by government and non-government agencies. An independent chair of the process, Robyn Walsh has been appointed. Walsh is the deputy female delegate for the Australian Council for Lesbian and Gay Rights. She has 10 years experience in the youth work sector and has worked as a juvenile justice officer, education officer and social educator. She is currently a youth refuge coordinator and also involved with a number of community groups. "I am keen to get input from marginalised groups within the community as well as from those well able to articulate their needs in a submission or by attending meetings. We need to speak not only to health and welfare professionals but also to recipients and those in need of services," she said. The first meeting of the group will be held at ALSO on Tuesday October 31 at 6.30pm. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE Bringing home the honey More than $45,000 was raised as 69 teddies went under the hammer on Monday as part of the final Christies Australia Mitchell Tyrie Teddy auction. Some of the surprising amounts were the Audrey Hepbearn Bear designed by Darryl Myott - $1,800, Hello Dolly Bear from the Gordon Frost Organisation - $1,700, Othello Bear from the San Francisco Opera - $2,000. The excitement started when the famed Lizzy Gardiner Bear designed by Howard Showers complete with American Express card dress stole the limelight by reaching $4,400. Jacqui Kinder, Victorian AIDS Councils Events Co-ordinator was exceptionally pleased with the result and said: "The funds raised in Sydney at the teddy auction will directly benefit Victorian people living with AIDS. With out the generosity of our designers, this auction would not have survived for the four successful years." Nearly 70 International and Australian designers, hundreds of volunteer hours, two hundred guests saw a superb ending to a four year long charity concept that stole the hearts of many teddy collectors. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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