“You’re not getting the red carpet!” It’s the fairly simple message we gave to Malcolm Turnbull by not officially inviting him to the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 2017. Honestly, we could have delivered a more acidic statement if we wanted to, but it was the least we could do to retain some of our dignity.
Last week I had the displeasure of talking with the attorney-general George Brandis during a video conference convened with LGBTI organisations around the country. At least I can report that he did not get what he bargained for.
Marriage equality – it should be simple. Yet a ridiculous number of roadblocks continue to be thrown in front of it by people elected allegedly to represent the country’s will.
The coroner described the story of Manjit Singh’s death as a 21st-century retelling of George Orwell’s How the poor die. Written in 1946 about his experience as a patient in a Parisian public hospital, Orwell’s essay tells of the indifference shown to the poor during their last moments in a world that owed them better: “This business of people just dying like animals, with nobody standing by, nobody interested, the death not even noticed till the morning. This happened more than once”.
In a blow to the forces of bigotry, the Australian Capital Territory legalised same sex marriage on 22 October. The Marriage Equality Same Sex Act 2013 is the result of the efforts of thousands of people around the country.