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Newsletter - July 2021

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Newsletter - July 2021
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July 2021
In this July edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have:
  • Karl Zlotkowski on No Right to Discriminate! Online Rally on 14 August!
  • Barry Charles on SGLMGs Queer Thinking: Religious Discrimination and the Fights Ahead
  • April Holcombe on Salon78: Why did Mardi Gras Move to Summer?
  • Statement and photos from the Victorian Pride Centre Opening
  • Robyn Kennedy on Oceania Pride
  • Sandra Gobbo’s review of ‘Free Radical - A Memoir’ by 78er Gay Walsh
  • A review of ‘Endings & Spacings’ by 78er Pam Brown
  • ACON’s LOVE Project Community Visitors Scheme
  • Link to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras video: Pride Month panel discusses the historic moment of 24 June 1978
  • UN Ambassador Mitch Fifield’s message for Pride Month
  • Calendar of Events.
Diane Minnis
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Here in NSW our community currently has two items of legislation to worry about, both proposed by One Nation: the Education (Parental Rights AKA Latham anti-trans) Bill and our state’s very own religious freedoms bill. The first of these has passed through a stage of public hearings, but at this stage there is no timeframe for a final Committee report.

The second is further along – recommendations have been passed to the NSW Government (with some Committee members dissenting). The Government is due to provide its response by September, at which time it may see value in picking a culture war to distract from other things.

Meanwhile in Canberra the Attorney General (Michaelia Cash) has announced that she is consulting on the Federal Religious Discrimination Bill, with a view to having draft legislation in federal parliament before the end of the year.  Christian Porter’s earlier attempt at this Bill was dismissed as unworkable (even by some religious groups) and abandoned. Is this latest version timed to surface just as we begin to lurch towards a Federal election?

And Lo! Just last week we have seen St Mary’s Anglican church in West Armidale order two of its congregation (one the organist) who are legally married, to separate and undertake religious counselling. The couple have walked out, with others from the congregation in sympathy. By leaving they have avoided the implied threat of dismissal for not complying with the Church’s Faithfulness in Service code.

For more information, see: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-07/gay-couple-leaves-anglican-church-after-dispute-over-marriage/100272680.

78ers, of course, will see echoes in all this of the treatment of Peter Bonsall-Boone in 1972, dismissed from his role as secretary of St Clements Anglican Church in Mosman. It wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now.

The Armidale Diocese is seeking to defuse the situation, but the incident highlights the high-handed, tone deaf attitude of many clergy and religious institutions towards exercising ‘freedoms’ they already have.  And yet they want MORE?

ALL these bills must be opposed. The ‘freedoms’ they seek to define are nothing but the powers to discriminate at will, without any obligation to respect the human dignity of others. They must be opposed, and they WILL be opposed.

Join us!
 
Given the current COVID lockdown in the Sydney, the CARR rally on 14 August will now be an online rally and forum. We will post details on Facebook when they are available and 78ers will be there.
 
Karl Zlotkowski
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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On 19 June 2021, SLGMG and Equality Australia co-hosted a Queer Thinking panel discussion on the proposed religious freedoms legislation.

It was great to see SLGMG taking an active part in a current queer rights struggle.

The Morrison Government’s long-promised “religious freedoms” bill is planned for December this year. It is part of a backlash by various religious organisations after they were defeated over the Marriage Equality legislation. 

There has been no mainstream public push or indication of necessity for this legislation, but the Attorney-General Michaelia Cash intends to go ahead anyway.

It comes on the back of efforts by One Nation to threaten queer youth with the Schools (Parental Rights) legislation in NSW. This in turn is part of a concerted campaign by right-wing politicians across the world aimed at reversing the many gains achieved for LGBTIQ rights over the last 50 years.

The Queer Thinking panel consisted of two speakers, Karen Pack and Hussein Hawli, who had personal experience of being rejected by their religious communities on the basis of their queer identity. And also Ghassan Kassisieh Equality Australia Legal Advisor, and Reverend Josephine Inkpin, Pastor at Pitt Street Uniting Church. The moderator was the ABC’s Fran Kelly.

The sad experience of the first two speakers showed that religious organisations already retain powers to discriminate and persecute LGBTIQ teachers and students.

Ghassan pointed out the flaws in the proposed bill based on some statements made by the Attorney-General and the demands being made by the likes of Lyle Shelton and Cory Bernardi; but the precise wording of the bill is not yet available.

Apart from the obvious attempts to reinforce discrimination, there are legal problems.

Ghassan believes the bill will create unworkable contradictions with current Anti-Discrimination Laws; particularly for the states. 
Employers also will be caught in a conflict of interest protecting one employee’s rights against another.

The last speaker, Josephine Inkpin nailed the point that this type of legislation is promoted by the leadership of religious organisations and politicians for their own power. The Australian Christian Lobby for instance represents a tiny minority but has powerful connections. Their views are not shared by the majority in their communities or by some of their own clerics. Increasingly, the latter are speaking out and emphasising compassion, respect, support and inclusion over rejection and discrimination.

The message was for all our community to recognise the threat in this legislation. We will need to mobilise as much support as was required for law reform in the 80s and for Marriage Equality.

We are in another fight for basic human rights without exemptions for some religious groups.
 
Barry Charles
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Secretary
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These days, Sydney Mardi Gras is a massive event. On 3 March 2019, for instance, 12,500 marched in the parade and 500,000 spectators cheered them on. Many people who attend would know that Mardi Gras’ protest roots go all the way back to 1978. But most would have no idea that that first protest was not at the end of summer, but on a cold winters’ day: 24 June 1978.

So why did Mardi Gras move to summer? That’s the question participants came together to discuss over Zoom on Saturday 26 June, 2021, as a new COVID-19 outbreak prevented an in-person forum. The meeting was organised by First Mardi Gras Inc. – those veteran activists who participated in that trailblazing event 43 years ago, and who’ve been fighting for social justice ever since.

Speakers Susan Ardill, David Abello and Murray McLachlan gave some contrasting and competing perspectives on the calendar shift – and the broader dynamics of the gay movement at the time.

As the meeting’s subtitle – ‘Community vs. Commercial Scene’ – suggested, the change of date was informed by political rationale. Broadly speaking, radicals in the movement opposed the date change as they considered it driven by more conservative forces seeking to moderate and marketise the event (although Ken Davis noted opposition to date change was not unanimous amongst radicals). Anyone who witnesses the Pink Dollar spectacle of Mardi Gras today can easily see where they’re coming from. Murray argued that ‘climate’ was as much a consideration as ‘commerce’ – but perhaps the former is primarily the prerogative of the latter?

Both Susan and David explained some of the tensions in the struggle as debates around racism, sexism and reform vs. revolution raged. As fierce as debate can get in political spaces, it is often the sign of a healthy movement that participants feel so passionately about these questions. More open discussion like this is welcome – and needed – in the movement today. I hope there are more opportunities like First Mardi Gras Inc.’s forum for radical activists to have these discussions.
 
April Holcombe
Co-Convener, Community Action for Rainbow Rights
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The Victorian Pride Centre was officially launched on Sunday 11 July by Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Equality Martin Foley, and Mayor of the City of Port Phillip Louise Crawford. The launch was preceded by a smoking ceremony and welcome to country by Boon Wurrung Senior Elder, N’arweet Carolyn Briggs. As the new home of Koorie Pride, the Victorian Pride Centre was honoured to open at the conclusion of this year’s NAIDOC Week.

The Pride Centre is Australia’s first purpose-built centre for LGBTIQ+ people and will house a range of community organisations as well as house spaces for art, culture, events and collaboration. It is a place of belonging, support and pride for the state’s diverse LGBTIQ+ community.

Incoming VPC Chair Hang Vo said “Today is an important milestone for our community. As Australia’s first purpose-built pride centre, this is where everyone can come together, honour the past, celebrate the present, and work towards a more inclusive future.

“We are open, welcoming to everyone, with a culture founded on diversity, inclusiveness and belonging. We are so thrilled to be the new home to a broad community of organisations, groups, vital services and social spaces,”
“We thank the many supporters whose generosity has ensured this beautiful centre could be built. To the Victorian Government, City of Port Phillip, our founders, corporate supporters and individuals, members of our sub committees and working groups and those who have donated or volunteered we thank you for joining with us in building this stunning communal landmark,”

Inaugural VPC Chair Jude Munro said “Today is an historic moment for our community. Our diversity is our strength and I know the centre is well placed to serve its mission and to be a vibrant place of pride for generations. As a co-founding member of Gay Liberation it’s fitting that as we celebrate we also acknowledge the history of criminalisation and discrimination many in our community have been subjected to and the people not with us today. As we party and prepare for the even brighter future we are building together we recognise how emotional it is for so many in our community to have reached this day,”

VPC CEO Justine Dalla Riva said “we look forward to welcoming the community to our centre. Whether you come to visit one of our tenant organisations, attend a meeting or attend an event we look forward to being the centre that brings together the vibrant diversity of our community. We have staff and volunteers representing all of our community ready to welcome you, to help with information, connection and advice; kindness and care.”

The virtual Pride Centre is the place to connect with the VPC wherever you are. You can find us on www.pridecentre.org.au.
The statement above was posted by the Victorian Pride Centre, following the successful launch on Sunday 11 July.
 
Two 78ers were key to the creation and build of this fabulous community resource. Jude Munro was the Inaugural Chair of the VPC Board and Peter McEwan was Chair of the Property Committee of the Board.

We will catch up with Jude and Peter in this newsletter in coming months – when they are not exhausted from their very significant efforts. But I’m sure all 78ers will join in to congratulate Jude and Peter on this magnificent achievement!
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At the last monthly meeting of Oceania Pride held on 30th June 2021 we had a presentation from Peter Irungu, Stakeholder Engagement Consultant with InterPride. Peter has been engaged to undertake detailed internal and external consultation about future strategic directions for InterPride.

InterPride was formed almost 40 years ago and since then the global Pride movement has changed significantly, particularly in relation to the growth and evolution of Pride in global south and east.

Peter noted that the strategic planning process aims to address a number of challenging issues including language and cultural barriers to participation, InterPride’s complex governance structures, and the future role of InterPride in the context of the increasing number of self-governing regional associations of Pride organisors.

Preliminary findings from the consultation process will be presented at the InterPride Annual Meeting and Conference to be held online in November 2021.
 
Robyn Kennedy
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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While loneliness and isolation can affect anyone’s mental health, the impact can be more severe for older people.

ACON's Community Visitor Scheme is all about reducing social isolation of older LGBTI people by providing company and friendship of Volunteer Visitors.

Our trained volunteers make regular one on one home visits where they chat over a cuppa, listen to music, watch a movie or participate in a hobby, game or other activity.

The Community Visitor Scheme is a free service that operates across the Sydney metropolitan area including the Blue Mountains.

The service is available to recipients of Australian Government subsidised Home Care Packages who have been identified by their aged care provider as experiencing or at risk of experiencing social isolation, whether for social or cultural reasons or because of disability.

To get involved as a client, volunteer or service provider please contact us: (02) 9206 2028 or email: communityvisitor@acon.org.au

We also invite you to connect to the LOVE Project via: FACEBOOK WEB.
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‘Free Radical - A Memoir’ by Gabrielle (Gay) Walsh is an important work from an activist who has dedicated her life to the creation of a better society. As she says “Change is a profoundly social process. It is so much more than ‘the individual’, the ‘me’: ‘taking a selfie’. Margaret Thatcher was quite wrong when she said that “there’s no such thing as society”. There really is and without society we cease to be human. Equally, in my humble opinion, our humanity may be measured by the quality of the society that we create.”

The value of such a carefully crafted record as an educational tool for younger readers cannot be overlooked, with the book containing a huge amount of background information provided on the origins of many campaigns and the activists involved. The book is a collection of both amusing anecdotes and political observations, all told from the perspective of Gay’s own experiences reflecting both her personal growth and the changes as they occurred in Australian society around her.

The opening chapters contain a perfectly rendered depiction of a childhood spent growing up in Brisbane and other Australian places in the 50s and 60s with a loving family, religious schooldays (with corporal punishment) and days packed with outdoor adventure and curiosity. The story moves quite quickly through her teenage years and the changes in Gay’s outlook as access to education increases and curiosity becomes guided by her growing intellect.

The story of what ‘Coming out’ and being a lesbian meant in the 60s is here and covers both the writer’s own confusion and discovery as well as the reactions of family and friends. Through the story of Gay’s experiences we learn about the fight to change the traditional role of women and the societal changes made possible by the Whitlam years.
There are backstories to many campaigns the origins of the various protest movements from the Anti-war marches to the Anti-Apartheid movements, and the rise of the gay and lesbian rights movement. The book is a great reminder that activists had to travel all over Australia to meet and plan and to attend meetings and conferences in the days of no email, no social media and no internet.

“We were on a mission to change the world in which we lived. We wanted to make peace and not war. We pursued liberation. We stormed the barricades and toppled the citadels. This was a fight for our lives on so many levels and in so many ways. Our struggles empowered us. We were potent and brave in our pursuit of sexual pleasure, emotional fulfilment and the recognition of our sexuality. We invented the language, the dialogue, the meaning of sexual liberation. We made it possible to be authentic human beings, without the horrible homophobic “crap” in our heads. We loudly proclaimed that “Gay is Good” and “Lesbians Ignite”. The “yes” vote in the postal survey could never have occurred were it not for past gains; who we really were back then and what we dared to do.”

Gay’s mentions of friends and colleagues throughout the book read like a roll-call of some of the pioneers of activism in Australia. There are so many stories of travels, memories and portraits of lovers and lifelong friendships – and there are some beautiful tributes to friends who are no longer here.

The list of unions, campaigns and legislative changes Gay Walsh has been involved with is huge, and there appears to have been no change of pace at any point. A tenacious fighter through decades of opposition, it must be noted that Gay continued to fight non-stop for a more just society while suffering various disabling illnesses. The final chapter is dedicated to the happiness of her relationship with Aurora and the well-deserved contentment found within.

Gay Walsh has always been a fearless activist and a force to be reckoned with, and this is a wonderful memoir of such a huge life.
Watch out for details of the launch of Gay’s book at the Victorian Pride Centre on 14 October 2021 and in other state capitals in the following weeks.

Available from Booktopia: Free Radical by Gabrielle (Gay) Walsh | 9781528948647 | Booktopia.

Link to Gay Walsh’s blog: https://gabriellegaywalsh.ampbk.com/blog/welcome-to-my-very-first-blog-on-my-brand-new-authors-website-so-exciting/.
 
Sandra Gobbo
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member
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The latest from Australian poet and editor Pam Brown is the poetry title Endings & Spacings (Sydney Australia: Never-Never Books, 2021), a small collection composed in three extended sequences: “( crossing my mind ),” “( lingering )” and “( outer spacings ).”

The three sequences of stitched lyrics in Endings & Spacings are composed akin to the late American poet Robert Creeley’s longer sequences: stretched-out accumulations of lyric fragments, hesitations and short phrases, one set upon another, furthering a loose thread as far as it might lead.

She writes of memory, recollection and time, sketching her meanderings and meditations that seek out the proper questions. She writes of history, and what it teaches, furthering step upon step, one thought leading directly into another. As she writes as part of the third sequence: “‘the past’ / is an invention / that, / once archived, / destroys / the commons // (execrable!) [.]”

Assembled and accrued during the pandemic-stretch, Brown’s triptych explores the lyric, but a particular kind of exhaustion, writing of wildfires and funerals, and long stretches of domestic patter, as in the second sequence, “after months of dark & silent evenings […] what to do when we can’t do anything [.]” Brown’s lyrics keep to small, composed facing outward but low to the ground.

These are meditations on anxiety, centred on and around such an uncertain stretch of time; not knowing when the tides might shift, and the uncertainties that pile upon each other through the process, as she writes as part of the opening sequence:

i don’t feel
      authorized to say
      i’m the ‘author’ of my poems 
maybe i’m the image
   my poems make of me     (not that)
               or a sign      (not that either) 
what does a poet
                      do?

As the author suggests via email, given neither book nor press has a webpage, anyone interested in purchasing a copy can contact the publisher directly at: never_never_books@yahoo.com. 

Rob McLennan rob mclennan's blog
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Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras put out a Pride Month video to mark the anniversary of the first Mardi Gras. I was pleased to be asked to take part and had a good chat with Jinny-Jane Smith of Blaq and Shirleene Robinson from the Pride History Group. The link and the post by SGLMG are below.
 
“On this day in 1978, a small group of protestors took to the streets of Sydney, peacefully marching during the day and organising a street parade for the evening. It was a defining moment in not only Sydney’s LGBTQI+ communities but Australia’s cultural heritage. We owe the brave 78ers much for where we are today – a more equal Australia.
Hear from Jinny-Jane Smith of Blaq, Diane Minnis, a 78er and First Mardi Gras Co-Chair and Shirleene Robinson of Pride History Group as they look back at that historic night, the impact it had and the changes that followed in the decades since”. https://fb.watch/v/1tcn4Gdm8/
 
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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Australia’s UN Ambassador, and former Liberal Minister, Mitch Fifield has circulated a Pride Month message on Twitter along with UN Ambassadors from other countries. Ambassador Fifield mentioned 78ers and the first Mardi Gras.

The tweet says: “June is #Pride Month around the world based on the #Stonewall riots in NYC in 1969. Each country has its own version of a “Stonewall”. Today, members of #LGBTICoreGroup tell their national stories #LGBTI #HumanRights https://t.co/2ylMZlqMbH”.
Calendar of Events