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Australian politics Victoria elections - Rainbow Reporter

Rainbow Report Thursday on 94.9

November 12th 2008 05:05

My guest this week

We continue our series of interview with mayoral candidates.

Robert Doyle, former Victorian Liberal leader and candidate for Lord Mayor of Melbourne, will join us to talk about his plans for the city.

Centrelink are keen to explain to us what the changes to the legal treamment of same-sex couples will mean in realtion to pensions and benefits, so they've agreed to provide a spokesperson - so let me know what you'd like me to ask on your behalf.

And Dale Smedley of DTs Hotel will be talking about his bid for a seat on his local council.

You can send your questions ahead of time to journobear@gmail.com

Plus the latest look Beneath the Bonnet with Kaye Sera.

That's Thursday noght 7-8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time, on Joy 94.9FM, streaming live at www.joy.org.au.

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Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: Australian politics, Melbourne, Victoria, elections, equal rights

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Mayors Nest or Dragons Lair

October 7th 2008 23:55

I So ain't gonna be yo' bro' no mo' - pic thanks ABC

Now that John So’s decided he ain’t gonna be our bro’ no mo’, and Jeff Kennett’s decided to stay home with the grandkids, would-be Melbourne Mayors are popping up like weeds. And weeds is the operative term.

Ineffectual former Liberal state leader Robert ‘Popeye’ Doyle – who in a “Sarah Palin moment” was once blessed by the fundamentalist ‘Catch The Fire’ Ministries - has been annointed front runner by the press, even though he hasn’t even said if he’ll definitely stand yet.

Long-time So associate (and wife of one of Ted Baillieu’s advisors, so I guess we can put her in the Liberal camp, too) Catherine Ng reckons it’s her turn at the top. She probably read Peter Costello’s memoirs and decided that if she didn’t give So a shove she too might turn into a political Miss Haversham.

Her decision to back herself instead of our incomprehensible but oddly popular mayor allegedly persuaded him to stand down. She’s rumoured to be something of a Dragon Lady - insiders call her ‘combative’ and ‘odd’, and that’s when they’re being nice; she calls herself “The City’s Mother”, which could illustrate either a high degree of self-delusion (not necessarily handicap for a politician – just look at Eva Peron) or simply a profound cultural gulf.

If you’re in no rush to collect another mother, how about a (slightly used) wife? Liberal power broker Michael Kroger’s other half, Anne Peacock and Jeff Kennett’s spouse Felicity are definite maybes. Rich businessmen are apt to buy up little businesses to give their wives something to do, but I’m not sure I want Town Hall put into that category.

Thankfully the former Premier himself – you know, the one who confuses gays with paedophiles, and likes to dress up in brown and yellow - decided not to run, a decision which generated such a deep sigh of relief in Bourke Street that that the Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning.

Meanwhile Labour, ever the friend of the working man, is offering us two “champagne socialists”: official (serial) candidate Peter McMullin, heir apparent to the Spotless Group, and multi-millionaire Will Fowles of Fowles Auction Group.

Spotless Group make their millions employing hordes of workers on minimum wages, many of who work on - surprise, surprise – servicing city owned properties and venues.

Not exactly the most inspiring group of contenders.

Does it matter who wins? You might think that a city like Melbourne ought to have one overarching strategic authority to deal with planning and infrastructure from Geelong to Sorrento, from the bay to Yea, but “Clown Hall” has only limited powers and responsibilities. It doesn’t run most of what we think of as ‘Melbourne’, just the CBD, Docklands, and a few inner suburbs.

On top of that, its decisions can be overridden by Spring Street, and if that doesn’t bring the councillors to heel, Spring Street can turf them out. Both have happened within recent memory. So it’s no wonder most of the cast of candidates look more like show ponies than workhorses.

Melbourne City Council may have less power and fewer responsibilities than the suburban councils around it, but it does have a power over our community. The power of money.

Thanks largely to the work of openly gay Deputy Lord Mayor Gary Singer, the city has tipped substantial amounts into Midsumma and OutGames (and elsewhere) in recent years, and given cheap CBD office space to Joy, ALSO, Switchboard and Queer Film.

But if Singer leaves at this election, all that becomes vulnerable. As the recession bites, a cash-strapped Council looking for budget cuts could find us a very easy and tempting target.

He has said he’s ‘considering’ a run, but high in the list of considerations must be the mauling he’d inevitably receive at the hands of the Herald Sun, which has never shirked from digging up dirt about him (and his partner) and throwing it around.

I can make no judgements about the quantity and quality of the dirt in question, compared to that available for flinging at other candidates, since to date the Herald Sun has not exactly been an equal opportunity muckraker.

For now we must give them the benefit of the doubt and acquit them of homophobia. The situation might be different if we had a decent broadsheet paper in the city , who I’m sure would delve into the dealings of all the candidates.

Instead of which Fairfax, owners of the Age, pursue a petulant policy of not touching any story already defiled by the hand of News Limited, thereby depriving us of much entertaining investigative journalism.

The money that has flowed from the Council to the rainbow community has underpinned a remarkable flourishing of Melbourne gay life, but to maintain it, we will need an advocate at City Hall, and of all the runners currently in the race, only the Greens have strong pro-diversity policies.

The signs are good. Adam Bandt, the Green candidate for Mayor, almost tipped Lindsay Tanner out of Melbourne at the general election, and is currently second favourite behind Doyle.

Another openly gay Melbournian, Andrew Heslop, recently quit his job in NSW and, after initially playing coy, now says he’s considering a run, and is looking around for a deputy. But he may have left it too late.

But unless Bandt, Singer or Heslop gets up, we could soon be dealing with a mayor’s nest.

Or possibly a dragons lair.

Adam Bandt and his deputy, Kathleen Maltzahn, are my guests on the Rainbow Report Thursday night October 9, on Joy 94.9 FM 7-8pm if you're in Melbourne, streaming live at www.joy.org.au if you're not. Podcast will be on the same site by the weekend. A version of this column first appeared in Southern Star, Melbourne's newest GLBTI newspaper, on the streets Thursdays.

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Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: Australian politics, Melbourne, Victoria, elections, equal rights

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Kennett now equates bisexual footy trainers with pedophile priests

August 2nd 2008 21:00

Dark Night Priest

Well, I was going to lay off Jeff Kennett, but the man just keeps chewing on that foot in his mouth. In the Herald Sun today he continues to make a link between bisexuality and pedophilia. Such a link does not exist, and such a slur is incredibly damaging.

To recap, Bonnie Doon Football Club (BDFC) sacked trainer Ken Campagnolo when he was outed as bisexual, saying they couldn't have him working with young boys because he was bisexual.

As a result, people assumed Ken was a potential pedophile, he was spat at on the street, unable to find work, lost his home and is now living rough as he tries to piece his life back together.

Jeff Kennett was approached to try to mediate because, as chairman of beyondblue, an anti-depression charity, he would be aware that one of the triggers of depression in country areas and sporting clubs is the exclusion and vilification of people who are, or who are seen to be, of a different sexual orientation.

And because he is also chairman of Hawthorn, an elite Australian Rules Football (AFL) club, so his prestige would be useful in persuading the directors of BDFC they'd got it wrong.
Instead of which he backed the directors all the way Really Long Link

He said, "The club felt that once this had been pointed out and you had this gentleman there who was obviously close to young men - massaging young men - it ran an unnecessary risk and that's why it decided it was best that he not perform those duties again," said Kennett.

"It's the same if you have a pedophile there as a masseur, right? And you might say the pedophile would do no damage, but once it was pointed out to you, you have a duty of care to those underage children not to put them in a situation of risk." Really Long Link

Since then he's been trying to claim that his remarks were taken out of context, although he refuses to permit the release of the transcript of the original interview to be released, which would settle the matter.

Now another sgment of the interview has appeared, in which he says, "My reference to pedophilia was to make the point of what has been occurring in various churches . . . this has heightened public opinion and led to many organisations trying to put in place programs or actions to minimise risk to individuals within organisations or clubs."

He's still equating pedophilia - a psycho-sexual disorder - with bisexuality, a normal position on the spectrum of human sexuality, and arguably the default state of human sexuality.

There's a half page ad** from multiple gay organisations in The Age today calling for Mr. Kennett's resignation from Hawthorn Football Club, because these attitudes are perpetuation the silencing and vilification of gays, lesbians and bisexuals in sport. The VGLR says he should also resign from beyondblue, and donate his salary for the last year - around $30k - to pay some of Kens legal fees.

There's a rally today at the State Library of Victoria, in support of the full recognition of gay relationships. Come along and show your support for us at the Melbourne State Library, Swanston Street 1pm today.

**The ad reads:

Unacceptable

Our organisations represent the community, experiences, needs and interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people across Victoria.

We work extensively in areas of community building, media, arts, sport, health, advocacy, law reform, research and most importantly delivery of programs and services aimed at addressing the systemic and individual consequences of historical criminalisation, stigmatisation, isolation and deprivation of our community.

It is a tribute to enduring community values that much has changed over the past 30 years and our human rights and related entitlements are now well established at law, with everyday opportunities and options being strengthened.

Our collective mission however, underscores the enduring impact of misplaced and discriminatory attitudes towards our community. Chief amongst these impacts is the ongoing social isolation and disengagement of seniors, poor access to the full spectrum of community services for all and, most pertinently, increased mental health concerns amongst young people exploring and questioning their sexuality.

The President of Hawthorn Football Club, Mr Jeff Kennett has been reported as comparing that the presence of a bisexual trainer at a football club to ‘having a pedophile working as a masseur at the club’. We are appalled at Mr Kennett’s ill informed, misguided and plainly indefensible slur against our community in promoting the utterly spurious and discredited link between homosexuality and paedophilia.

Mr Kennett’s public expression of these views suggests a complete disregard for the harmful impact they have on our community and particularly on young people. It is absolutely unacceptable that any football club would countenance such behaviour from its President, behaviour which we believe is both unlawful and immoral.

Football clubs have a special and important leadership position within the Australian community, in particular in shaping and influencing the lives of young people. In recent times we have seen this influence used positively to signal appropriate values in relation to racism, sexual violence and reconciliation.

We therefore demand an immediate and public apology from Hawthorn Football Club. We call on the AFL to issue a statement making it clear that they do not support those views. We seek an urgent discussion with both Hawthorn Football Club and the AFL regarding the ways in which the club and the League might commit to the promotion of anti homophobia initiatives in this sport.

ALSO Foundation
Joy 94.9
Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby
OutBlack
Transgender Victoria
OutGames
Victorian AIDS Council
People Living with HIV/AIDS
Minus 18
Country AIDS Network
Midsumma Festival
Melbourne Queer Film Festival

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