The Informer

– Federal Parliament has passed Australia’s own version of Magnitsky Laws, which allows for targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights violations. Emma Hoy spoke with one of the bill’s key supporters, Federal Greens Senator Janet Rice about the legislation, along with Nic Holas from the Victorian Pride Lobby about how they’d like the new legislation used to target abusers of queer people around the world.

– The Federal Coalition is pushing new legislation pitched as an anti-trolling bill. However, many have critiqued the legislation as doing little to stem trolling, instead they say, stifling free speech by making it easier for defamation lawsuits to be launched along with being a further erosion of online privacy. Pearl Cardis investigates.

– Discussions of the religious discrimination bill being pushed by the federal coalition often frames religiosity and queerness as mutually exclusive. That’s of course far from the case. There are many people of faith that are at risk of being impacted by the legislation. James Pembroke has spoken with several of them.

This is our final episode for 2021 and the last for Executive Producer Gavin Height at the helm. A massive thank you to all the hard work of The Informer team this year – Ryan Sambell, James Pembroke, Pearl Cardis, Emma Hoy, Hailey Pham, Chloe Macmillan, Shannon Colee, Dom Hennequian, Jack Cranjin, and Yuan Zhong. And thanks to you, our listeners, for tuning in. Have a great summer!

The post Aus passes Magnitsky laws, activists call for Chechen leaders to be targeted | Critics of proposed ‘cyber-bulling’ law say it will only make defamation lawsuits easier | Religious Discrimination Bill won’t protect those who face discrimination says gay Christian man | The Informer – 9 Dec 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– World AIDS Day is 1 Dec so we look back at two stories from this season. One looks at exciting new research being undertaken in Melbourne into a potential cure for HIV, while in the other, we look into the concerning rising HIV infection rates in Indonesia.

– Continuing our retrospective – back in August when Australia pulled its last troops out of Afghanistan, unlike other western countries it refused to take in more refugees. Months later the Australian Gov has still not changed its policy, despite wide-ranging criticism. We spoke with Dennis Altman at the time who wrote an open letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne.

The post World AIDS Day | Dennis Altman on Aus Afghan refugee refusal | The Informer – 2 Dec 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The federal government has tabled its long-awaited Religious Discrimination Bill. The legislation would weaken some existing protections for LGBTQIA+ Australians and has been roundly condemned by queer advocates, among others. We speak to Equality Australia about what this legislation means for the community.

– Melbourne Queer Film Festival has been rocked by a boycott campaign after it refused to withdraw Israeli film The Swimmer from its program. Boycott organisers say the film, and allowing it to be aired, is pinkwashing, while MQFF says it has a duty to support a diverse range of filmmakers. We speak to both the campaign organisers and MQFF to find out what’s going on.

The post Religious Discrimination Bill legalises discrimination opponents say | MQFF rebuffs calls to cut film funded by Israeli gov | The Informer – 25 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– New research by Vic Pride Lobby finds the vast majority of queer Victorians surveyed don’t trust or feel safe around police. We speak with Nic Holas of the Lobby about the findings, some of the impacts that the lack of trust can lead to, and what the police can do to improve their relationship with our communities.

– Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, sat down with us to chat about how he came to the role, the work he’s been undertaking, the issues he sees our communities are facing, and the importance of supporting and fostering regional queer communities.

The post Majority of queer Victorians don’t trust or feel safe around police survey finds | Vic LGBTIQ Commissioner on the issues facing our communities | The Informer – 18 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The Victorian state government has proposed changes banning deferrable medical interventions on intersex children until they are able to consent. The changes have been welcomed after years of campaigning by intersex advocates who highlight the mental and physical damage that can be done by interventions. We speak with a paediatric surgeon about how the system currently operates.

– Recently in Bulgaria’s capital, Sophia, a far-right mob led by a presidential nominee attacked a queer community centre holding an event for trans people and issues. What happened in the attack and how more broadly, how is the situation for sexual and gender minorities in Bulgaria? We spoke with a community leader at the community centre when it was attacked to find out.

The post Trans activists attacked by far-right mob in Bulgaria | Paediatric surgeon comments on proposed intersex surgery ban | The Informer – 11 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The board of Sydney Mardi Gras has proposed changes to its constitution that would mean a significant portion of the board is appointed by other board members, not elected by the organisation’s members. The motion will be put to a vote at an upcoming general meeting. Some in the organisation are critical of the proposal, namely the activist group, Pride in Protest.

– As Victoria comes out of what is hopefully its last significant lockdown, the usually vibrant arts scene is coming out of an 18+ month shutdown. We speak with some performance artists about how they’ve coped, what it’s like coming out of such a long shutdown, and what we as a community can potentially learn from how we adapted and changed to deal with restrictions.

The post Sydney Mardi Gras board proposes change to constitution | How has the Melbourne arts community survived the long lockdown? | The Informer – 4 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– As Melbourne emerges from another tough long lockdown, we hear from some queer pubs about how they’ve managed while their doors were shut and how important queer spaces are for the community.

– Burundi is a small country nestled in the middle of Africa that has seen significant civil war in its not-too-distant past. While widespread violence isn’t a feature of the political process in recent years, homophobia from the state and society is increasing. Burundi passed its first laws against homosexuality in 2009, banning both male and female homosexual acts. In such a climate, speaking out isn’t easy or necessarily safe. We spoke with a brave anonymous individual who shed light on the experience of queer people in the country.

– It’s Aussie Ace Week, which brings attention, celebrates, and advocates for the ace community. We hear from one of the organisers about what’s happening.

The post Queer pubs emerge from lockdown | First-hand account of queer life in Burundi | What’s happening for Aussie Ace Week? | The Informer – 28 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a report recommending non-medically necessary interventions on intersex children be banned until they are able to give consent. We speak with intersex advocate, Tony Briffa, who has been calling for the changes for years.

– Although abortion was ruled a constitutional right in the US in the 1970s, opponents have long tried to restrict access through various state legislation. Texas has passed laws so strict it’s essentially a de facto ban. We investigate how women’s constitutional rights have been circumvented.

– New pop-up Covid vaccination clinics specifically tailored for the queer community open this week. We speak with Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, about why vaccination clinics for the queer community are helpful, and about the impact lockdowns have had on the queer community.

– A private prison in Victoria was nominated for a trans inclusion award, angering some in the queer and First Nations communities.

The post Human Rights Commission calls for ban on intersex child surgeries | How has Texas banned abortions? | Vic LGBTIQ Commissioner #FabJab interview | Vic private prison nominated for trans inclusion award | The Informer – 21 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– NSW has a new premier in Dominic Perrottet. A self-declared social conservative, he has previously expressed opposition to marriage equality, abortion, and support for Donald Trump. Is social progress under threat? We investigate.

– Victorian Parliament has passed reforms on Assisted Reproductive Treatments. We speak with the Vic. Pride Lobby about how the reforms benefit rainbow families, but also how they didn’t go far enough.

– Scotland has introduced wide-ranging LGBTQI issues and history into its school curriculum, from age-appropriate discussions around gender and sexuality, to the history of the gay rights movement–the curriculum is hoped to reduce queerphobia. We speak with one of the activists that pushed for the changes, and an Australian education academic about how Australia is lagging behind on inclusive education.

The post Should queer people be concerned about new NSW Premier? | Victoria passes Assisted Reproductive Treatment reforms | Scotland introduces LGBTQI issues and history into school curriculum | The Informer – 14 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– A petition calling for gender-affirming surgery to be covered amassed over 100,000 in a matter of days. Currently, the surgery isn’t covered and is extremely expensive. We speak with Sally Goldner from Transgender Victoria about what impact Medicare coverage could have.

– The EU has been applying pressure to Polish province governments over ‘LGBT-Free Zone’ ordinances that have been passed by many provinces since 2019. With the threat of funding being withheld, some have dropped the ordinances. We speak with academic Cai Wilkinson about if the changes might lead to improvements on the ground for sexual and gender minorities in Poland.

– There’s been a long trend of gay bars closing. While there’s debate about the causes, the outcome means that there are fewer physical queer-focused spaces for people to meet. We speak with one new bar owner determined to buck the trend, as he opened the Gold Coast’s only gay bar, after several years of there being none in the region.

The post Huge support for gender-affirming surgery to be covered by Medicare | Polish provinces buckle under EU pressure over ‘LGBT-Free’ zones | New Gold Coast gay bar defies trend | The Informer – 7 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.