Victorian Couple Win Surrogacy Case
A Melbourne gay couple has been granted full parental rights of their surrogate daughters who were conceived by a surrogate mother in India, the ABC reported. The couple won the case on January 22 as the non-genetic father of the twin’s was granted full parental rights from the Victorian Family Court. Last year, the men had twins through an Indian surrogate mother, using the sperm of one of the men and an egg from an anonymous donor. Victorian Law Institute president Caroline Counsel told the ABC the decision had set an interesting precedent where the court was questioning what made up a family.
Anti-homophobia Course in Schools By 2013
New South Wales will trial an anti-homophobia program similar to the Safe Schools Coalition running in Victorian schools. The $250,000 Proud Schools program will be piloted in 12 NSW high schools. So far 22 schools have signed on to the Safe Schools scheme in Victoria, which works with school staff to develop anti-homophobia initiatives and to create bullying-free environments in schools. Safe Schools Coalition Victoria (SSCV) coordinator Roz Ward said she was pleased to see NSW follow Victoria’s lead, but said funding is still critical for Victoria’s model to continue. Ward said feedback from school communities so far has been ‘fantastic’. – Sydney Star Observer
AME Respects Religious Views
One of Australia’s leading marriage equality groups has announced they will respect the religious values of opponents to same-sex marriage. Australian Marriage Equality convener Alex Greenwich said he hoped for a commitment in return from opposing churches to not ‘inflame prejudice’ during the marriage debate. ‘As the debate on marriage equality intensifies this year, it is important that both sides conduct themselves with maturity, respect, and commit to using truthful and factual arguments,’ Greenwich said. ‘Just like those Christian lobby, we believe in the importance of marriage, protecting families, and religious freedom… in fact we see these as three keys reasons for marriage equality.’
UN Gay marriage Grilling
Same-sex marriage was one of the recommendations put forward to the Australian Government last month during the United Nations Periodic Review. On January 27, nearly 50 countries questioned the Australian government on its human rights record and devised almost 150 recommendations, Sydney Star reported. Four of those recommendations focused on LGBT rights. New Zealand delegates recommended anti-discrimination legislation on the basis of sexual orientation while Norway recommended Australia amend the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage. The proposed recommendations were to be tabled in parliament and be included in a national human rights plan. – Sydney Star Observer
PM’s lesbian staffer resigns
Julia Gillard’s chief-of-staff Amanda Lampe resigned last month, shortly after taking maternity leave following her partner giving birth to twins. The lesbian mother resigned citing personal reasons, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The SMH reported there had been growing criticism of Lampe by ministers about the operation of Ms Gillard’s office. Lampe was the third senior staffer to quit last month as the chiefs-of-staff from cabinet ministers Kate Ellis and Stephen Conroy also resigned. A senior source said it had been pretty clear for a while that it wasn’t an ideal situation for anyone. Lampe was replaced by Ben Hubbard, Gillard’s C-O-S when she was deputy PM.
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