Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 17:47:37 +1000 From: leto@rabbit.com.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 17/10/96 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue #117 - 17/10/96 Including: 1. Queer art banned 2. Lab move controversy 3. Transgender in school row 4. Witness exposed 5. Nazi threats on sports day 6. Rugby star goes down 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/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ QUEER ART BANNED *Horsham Rural City Council has ordered staff at a rural art gallery to remove three paintings of gay male nudes from a community art space.* The council has also demanded the covering of text referring to explicit same sex acts that accompany pictures in a photographic exhibition also on display at the gallery. Banned Melbourne artist Richard Morrison told Brother Sister that he believes his censored work celebrates the metropolitan gay scene with vividly coloured portraits of well-known transvestites, images of his friends and crowd scenes in pubs and nightclubs. All three paintings of male nudes by Morrison have been removed from public areas of the gallery. One of the offending pieces of art has been placed in storage while the other two now hang in the office of gallery director Merle Hathaway. A sign where the paintings once hung reads: "Due to some objections to the depiction of the naked human form, this painting has been removed from the exhibition. The painting may be viewed in the director's office. We apologise for any inconvenience." Council chief executive officer Kerryn Shade said that members of the public that had viewed the paintings while attending a social gathering had complained about the obscene nature of the male nude's anatomy. Shade said the works were removed because they were in a public thoroughfare. Had the works been displayed in the "gallery space" he claims they would not be under the jurisdiction of the Council. Hathaway believes it was the overt homosexual nature of the paintings that offended the public. She added, "There has been no objection to frontal female nudes hanging in the gallery upstairs." Morrison remains stunned by the reaction to his paintings, "I was shocked by the public's response to the nudes. "Since Victorian days we have been accustomed to viewing the female nudes in a vulnerable state. When it's a white male the penis is the controversy, although not erect it's seen as sexually vulnerable." Morrison went on to say that he believes no nude pose is obscene, "I find the act of violence more offensive. My nudes aren't doing anything sexual. Even if they were masturbating, what's wrong with that? It's a part of life." Morrison also claims regional Australia doesn't always get to see graphic art and that they are accustomed to more inadvertent subjects like landscapes. Photojournalist Matthew Sleeth's exhibition depicting male prostitutes contains the other work that has been censored by the Horsham City Council. Sleeth had photographed male sex workers and invited them to inscribe a caption under their image. It was captions such as, "I've given up sucking cocks" that the council objected to. They say the description of the sexual act was deemed offensive by Horsham residents who asked for it to be covered. A sign over the caption reads: "The text on this photograph is of frank colloquial nature. Please ask a member of the gallery staff if you would like to view it." The Morrison exhibition is relocating to Melbourne in early November where it will be renamed Success Scandale. Morrison is hoping to have a totally nude launch of the exhibition in Melbourne. Lee-Anne Richards LAB MOVE CONTROVERSY *Opinions are divided over the State Government's choice as to the new site for Victoria's Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory.* The Health Minister Rob Knowles announced this week that the $3.5 million tender for the laboratory had been won by the Western Health Network. The Network will base the laboratory at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, which is reported as soon having to face massive staff cuts itself. The government also said that the laboratory will receive $5 million a year in funding from the Department of Human Services and another $1 million that will be collected from hospital revenue across Victoria. The laboratory was formerly based at Fairfield, which was also the centre for HIV/AIDS treatment in this state. A spokesperson for the Victorian AIDS Council told newspapers that they were pleased that the laboratory was going to move to the Royal Melbourne Hospital as that was also the base for the Victorian Infectious Diseases Services unit. The Opposition health representative John Thwaites has slammed the move, saying that AIDS research would suffer since the AIDS treatment centre is now based suburbs away at Prahran's Alfred Hospital. The State Opposition believe that the Fairfield site should never have been broken up. Services at the Fairfield were broken into three units and divided up for tender. One is now based at the Alfred and the other two at the Royal Melbourne. The VAC are still pressuring the government to ensure that a close association remains intact between the different units. Knowles is promising that the laboratory will remain at the forefront of AIDS research as well as keeping a close watch on new threatening diseases such as Hepatitis G and Ebola. TRANSGENDER IN SCHOOL ROW *Tabloid newspapers and TV have pounced on the story of a male to female transgender teacher that has been forced into an office job away from the classrooms.* Lee Oliver is at the centre of a row that has current affair programmes pitting parent against pupil. Oliver was banned from drama teaching duties while the subject of disciplinary action stemming from her drama course at Rosebud Secondary College. Now based at Dromana Secondary College, Oliver is working as an administrator but has requested to return to the classroom. Oliver has to attend a disciplinary hearing later this month following complaints about a play that students were taken to see that featured male nudity. There were other complaints from parents who felt that drama workshops that involved teenage girls talking about loud orgasms were inappropriate. The teachers' union representing Oliver, who is currently undergoing hormone treatment, are demanding that she be allowed back to teach immediately. They have implied that Oliver has been removed from teaching duties because of her sex change treatment. Susan Ure, a spokesperson for the Education Department denies that transgenderism is an issue with Oliver's relocation. One TV report showed Rosebud students as supporting Oliver and also demanding her return to teaching. The Herald Sun reported one parent she was distressed by the situation after her daughter came home from school comparing her breast size with Oliver. Other parents complained that Oliver was "flaunting" her sex change. Mary Bluett, the vice-president of the Australian Education Union has said that it would have been better for Oliver to remain at home until the sex change was complete. WITNESS EXPOSED *A gay man has had his name and photo splashed through a daily newspaper after giving evidence in a gay bash court case.* The witness says he was devastated when details of the incident, including his name and photograph, appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser. Neither police nor the Crown prosecutor had informed the witness that he could have made an application to the courts to have his identity suppressed. The witness had given evidence that Hugh Raymond Jamison had committed robbery with violence. Jamison was found guilty and has yet to be sentenced. The witness said he had reported the incident because he refused to be intimidated by Jamison and wanted to make sure Jamison would not do the same to others. The witness had met Jamison in a gay bar and had then met him on other occasions when sexual acts had occurred. However, on the last occasion, when the witness had refused to have sex, Jamison had threatened to "carve his face up" and demanded money. The witness had reported the matter to police and said they had been helpful all the way, in particular Det Sgt Cunningham. However, he had not been warned that his name and photograph could be published in the media. The witness said that after the media reports he had received numerous calls of support from friends and clients. Adelaide GT NAZI THREAT ON SPORTS DAY *Organisers of a gay and lesbian sports day in Perth on October 27 have received word of threats to disrupt the event by the extremist National Action Party.* Reports of the threats were leaked after a recent Party meeting and were passed on to the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, June Williams, and Gay and Lesbian Equality spokesperson Brian Greig. National Action Party members harassed swimmers at the 1994 Australian Gaymes and poured purple dye into a swimming pool, rendering it unusable. A witness of the meeting said he had "grave misgivings" about the motives of those attending, as they appeared "a collection of uneducated thugs and ne'er-do-wells". During the course of the meeting, convenor Michael Brander told the meeting of his intention to cause an "affray" at the Gay Olympics. When it was pointed out that deliberately causing such an "affray" was a criminal act for which they could be prosecuted, Brander assured the assembly that the police would not prosecute, because they supported the Party's views.  According to Greig, police are monitoring the situation. "I didn't take it very seriously, but I thought at least I should inform GAGS and the police, which I did. "I don't want to alarm anyone. I think the threat is basically bullshit." Police Media Officer Sergeant Tony Potts said that the Police were aware of the Party, and considered them an extreme right-wing group. Acting Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer, Senior Sergeant Lily Cvijic, has been informed of the threat, and has referred the matter to Protective Services, the arm of the police that deals with threats or possible threats from extremist groups. Gavin Pitts RUGBY STAR GOES DOWN The captain of Brisbane Brother's Rugby Union club has been suspended for three months after organising an event which resulted in the bashing of a gay man in an inner city hotel (reported in the last issue of Brother Sister). Jason "Rupert" McCall was suspended along with five other players over the incident. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE PRISCILLA MISSES THE BUS The drag performers are hurriedly sewing on sequins; the DJ is joyfully unwrapping new CDs and the organisers are secretly stocking up on Valium. From the "it had to happen" file is a drag queen tour heading out across the upper, dryer regions of this nation. Known as the "Not the Priscilla Tour" , this drag show will be setting out in early November, cutting a glamourous path through the top end of Australia. "This tour is not just about having a good night out," said organiser David Wells. "More importantly," he added, "it is about community development and bringing people together and providing a safe and secure venue by which people who do not normally feel comfortable about going out, can go out". The organisers in each of the towns they visit are putting together gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender "mini- expos" that will precede the drag performance. Steve Lambert, another spokesperson for the touring group said, "The idea is that as many community groups, organisations, and businesses who work with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community will display their services and wares". Unfortunately, the idea of taking a big bus has not eventuated. Organisers did not get enough takers to make the big bus idea viable, but they are hoping that six drag queens hitting any town will be enough to cause a bit of a stir. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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