Prime Minister John Howard has increased the likelihood that HIV positive people may find it more difficult to enter Australia. Under proposals supported by Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, HIV positive migrants are likely to be forced to report their HIV status to medical authorities within a month of arriving in the country or run the risk of being stripped of their visas. While the proposal at this stage does not appear likely to be used to exclude HIV positive people from entering Australia entirely, it represents a new level of surveillance and regulation.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Philip Ruddock has been taking a foray into the relationship recognition debate. His calls for community consultation have infuriated gay and lesbian rights organisations such as the Gay and Lesbian rights Lobby. The GLRL claim that the report from their community consultation with over 1300 people entitled All Love is Equal …Isn’t It? already proves that there is support for recognition of same sex relationships. According to the GLRL Ruddock’s comments merely represent a delaying tactic designed to avoid implementing changes to tax, super, family and Medicare that would deliver tangible moves towards equality for gays and lesbians.
VICTORIA
The Melbourne Age reported last month that a $10 company established three weeks before the 2004 federal election by a member of the Exclusive Brethren has been referred by the Australian Electoral Commission to the Australian Federal Police for investigation. The company, Willmac Enterprises, was responsible for supplying $370,000 in election campaign funds for pro-Liberal and anti-Greens advertisements in South Australia, Tasmania, and John Howard’s Sydney seat of Bennelong. The AEC are reportedly tight-lipped about the exact nature of the investigation, and the Exclusive Brethren are denying involvement in Willmac Enterprises.
The Exclusive Brethren have previously been the subject of complaint from the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby over their ‘Anti-GLBTIQ hate campaign’ and their links to the Liberal party in that state.
TASMANIA
According to crikey.com, the Greens, and particularly their high profile gay leader, Bob Brown are in danger of losing federal seats at the next election because of a preference distribution strategy being developed by anti-gay rights party Family First. In the 2004 election, the Greens lost seats to Family First when Labor preferenced them over the Greens in key seats.
Also in Tasmania, gay rights activist Rodney Croome has hit out at the State Government for considering a proposed Anti-Discrimination Act exemption allowing Catholic schools to turn away students who are not Catholic or from Catholic backgrounds. Mr Croome expressed concern that the exemption would allow Catholic schools to exempt gay students, those that question Catholic doctrine or have parents in de facto relationships.
NSW
Last month High Court Judge Michael Kirby took a swipe at the role played by religious organisations in hindering United Nations HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Justice Kirby, speaking at a book launch, said ‘the United Nations seems substantially disempowered to spread those messages because of the religious impediments that exist to spreading the messages that are essential.
Those messages included the availability of condoms and the role of safer sex, the reduction of the risks of intravenous drug use, the availability of clean needles, the decriminalisation of commercial sex work and the decriminalisation of homosexual acts,’
In other Sydney news, there has been a change at the helm of Sydney’s best known GLBTIQ newspaper, Sydney Star Observer. Scott Abrahams, formerly Editor-in-Chrief of Courier newspapers has taken on the newly created role of Publishing Editor.
QUEENSLAND
In other media shake-ups, the newspaper Queensland Pride has been sold. OUTinPerth understands that it has been sold to Sydney company Evolution Publishing, who also own Melbourne’s MCV, Sydney’s SX, and national mag AX.
