In Brief

ACCESS CARD DISCRIMATORY: DEMOCRATS

Children of same-sex couples and transgender people could be disadvantaged by a planned National Access Card, the Democrats said this week. Privacy spokesperson Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said the federal government had dodged questions on whether non-biological parents would be able to access health and welfare services for their children under the Access Card scheme. The card could also have serious implications for transgender people not able to undertake gender reassignment surgery, Stott Despoja said. The government must give a commitment that its services to the gay, lesbian and transgender population will be the same level of service they provide to everyone else, she said.

FRED NILE PREFERENCES AGAINST CHRISTIANS

Announcing the preference deal between the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, Fred Nile said they would preference the ALP above the Liberals in certain seats to prevent the Greens or Muslims winning seats. In later comments Nile identified some of those seats as Marrickville and Lakemba, in which the Liberal candidates are Ramzy and Morris Mansour respectively. The brothers are Egyptian immigrants and Christian. Earlier in the week the Christian Democrats called for a 10-year ban on Muslim immigration to allow more Middle Eastern Christians into the country.

FRANCE SAYS NON TO GAY MARRIAGE

France’s top court ruled that country’s first gay wedding was not legal. The Court of Cassation, the highest court in the French judiciary, this week ruled that marriage was only possible between a man and a woman, and only the adoption of a new law would allow same-sex marriage. The finding was made after St?ane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier, a couple who married in June 2004, claimed the law did not explicitly state marriage had to involve persons of the opposite sex and were appealing against an earlier finding when their marriage was annulled. The state of gay marriage in France continues to divide politicians, with candidates in next month’s presidential elections taking differing positions. Socialist S?l? Royal supports, while conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and centrist Fran?s Bayrou both oppose.

LAUPER SHOWS HER TRUE COLOURS

Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry and Erasure will headline a True Colors tour of the US aimed at highlighting gay and lesbian rights issues. The three acts will join The Dresden Dolls, The Gossip, Rufus Wainwright and Margaret Cho in a tour that will also raise funds for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Human Rights Campaign. Lauper decided to organise the tour to say thanks to the gay and lesbian community for years of support. The tour kicks off in Las Vegas in June.