Letters – SS 132

SUPPORT APPRECIATED

I write to thank you for your fantastic support for the 2nd AsiaPacific Outgames as Official Media Partner.

As you know, the event was an outstanding success, with almost 1400 registered participants and many more partners, friends and family in support.

The informal feedback we have received has been excellent, and we have just closed an online survey of participants, collecting responses in a more formal way.

We greatly appreciate the consistent support you gave over a long period of time.

We received good feedback from this, and we have no doubt that your support was one of the key reasons the Outgames enjoyed such strong levels of Australian participation.

— David Hindley, Co-chair, 2nd AsiaPacific Outgames

FRIEND SEARCH

Ken Wallace from Adelaide, South Australia is looking for Andrew Donald (McDonald) from Sydney, New South Wales.

Ken and Andrew met in Sydney back in the late ’80s. Andrew moved to Wollongong in the ’80s to study acting at Wollongong University.

Ken now lives in the UK and is desperate to find Andrew. If you are Andrew or know of him please get in touch via email: [email protected]

Thank you.

— Ken

ADF SCANDAL

As an ex-serving member of 14 years, I am utterly disgusted by all of this.

If the ADF chief of staff has any moral compass whatsoever, he should resign for having left the servicemen and women in his charge open to such abhorrent fear. If he won’t resign then the Minister for Defence should show his own values and dismiss him for failing to protect those under his charge.

This is the type of thing, along with the poofter bashings, and because of the fear of a seven-year jail term for being a poofter (they called it, in those days, ‘an abhorrent act’) caused me to resign and leave a job I loved — serving my country.

— Scott

MURRAY PETITION

We have to keep pushing the idea of civil unions at the Town Hall.

It’s the idea France had where you remove all religious terms from the civil ceremony and let churches do what they want in their confines. If we present this as a non-partisan solution, it will surely gain greater acceptance.

— Anton

MATTHEW MITCHAM

Go Matthew, what a great ambassador for the cause.

We had our photo taken with him at Fair Day and he has a great personality and tirelessly worked the crowd. It must be hard trying to mix a social life while in the limelight. I wish him well in all his endeavours.

— Paddy

MARRIAGE LAWS

It is good to see a loophole in the laws that could further the gay marriage push.

However, while more attention is focused on the gay marriage debate and campaign, states are quietly stripping away other rights and protections.

Take Victoria. The Equal Opportunity Act is being reversed and modified to allow religious organisations a free pass to discriminate against the LGBTIQ community.

We’re so focused on the gay marriage issue that the equally important changes to these laws are being pushed through under our noses and by the time we realise how much damage has been done, it’ll be too late!

While allowing states to make their own laws on these things may be a good step forward, it really needs to take effect at a national level to offer total protection.

— Dave