‘Defund’ Department of Homo Affairs, Demands One Nation MLC Mark Latham

One Nation MLC Mark Latham, who recently failed to get the NSW Parliament to pass two of his anti-LGBTQI legislations, has found a new target. 

On Wednesday, Latham went on Ray Hadley’s show on 2GBRadio to call for the Department of Homo Affairs (DoHA) to be “defunded”. The MLC claimed that the group is offered space and other facilities free of charge at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo.

DoHA told Star Observer it was the first time that they had heard their group receives “free space.”

DoHA, which calls itself a “political satirist group”, is known for its unique protests. In 2021, four DoHA members dressed as cricket umpires were arrested for protesting police presence at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras at the Sydney Cricket Ground. 

‘If You And I Use The Word Homo…’

The One Nation MLC claimed that he found at budget estimates that DoHA is provided “floor space, free use of facilities and support by staff under the creative residency program” at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo. 

“Now, if you and I use that word ‘homo’, we’d be in deep strife but this is government-funded,” Latham told Hadley. 

“The Department of Homo Affairs, who say that they’re involved in the arts, but they’re really political activists. They build themselves as campaigning against Australia’s culture of white supremacy. So there they are attacking Australia with lies. They’re campaigning for open borders, so helping the people smugglers and reviving those dreadful boats where so many of the asylum seekers drowned.”

Latham also pointed to DoHA’s novel protests at the Mardi Gras parades against the police and Liberal party “Why can’t Liberal Party or anyone else have a float at the Mardi Gras if they’ve got people there supporting their cause? So this is a political outfit masquerading as an arts body, and there’s no way in the world they should receive tens of thousands of dollars of public support for their political activism,” Latham said adding that it was a “taxpayer-funded complete waste of money.“

Latham called on NSW Premier Dom Perrottet’s new minister for arts Ben Franklin to act against the group. 

“Ben Franklin, who’s got a bit more common sense than Don Harwin (the former Arts Minister in Glady Berejiklian’s cabinet), hopefully, he’ll defund this outfit and remove them from the Powerhouse Museum,” Latham told Hadley. 

‘Defund Mark Latham’

This is the moment four cricket umpires intercepted the @nswpolice float at the Sydney Cricket Ground during @sydneymardigras to declare "COPS OUT" in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and all over-policed communities.#MardiGras pic.twitter.com/RQwt5C9DWl

— Department of Homo Affairs (@AffairsHomo) March 8, 2021

Star Observer reached out to DoHA, and the group seemed surprised at Latham’s jibe that they had received funding from the state. 

“We call on the completely political and un-useful activities of Mark Latham to be defunded,” said Officer Stonewall of DoHA.

“We were not aware, until we heard Mr Latham’s comments, that we had received  any “free space”. We of course fully commit to a thorough internal investigation to find out where our rent payments have been going.” 

DoHA pointed to the setbacks that Latham had suffered in the NSW Parliament, where his Religious Freedom Bill and anti-trans education bill faced ignominious defeat. 

“We also want to acknowledge the difficult context in which Mr Latham is operating. We can only imagine his visceral disappointment about the so-called religious freedoms & parental rights bills failing to get through Parliament. We note that he must be fixating on any opportunity to be involved in the LGBTQIA+ community at this sensitive time for extremely heterosexual cis men,” added Officer Stonewall.