The Informer

Buzzfeed News’ Hannah Ryan has been doing some deep dives into questions the Border Force has been asking asylum seekers. An internal review from the Department of Home Affairs has shown that officers asked asylum seekers if they could just go back home and pretend to be straight. Hannah tells us more.

A new initiative from is working to reduce the – sometimes significant – barriers to employment. We spoke to Hannah Morgan at the National LGBTI Health Alliance about the work they’re doing to reduce barriers for members of our community.

For more information on the program, visit https://lgbtihealth.org.au/news/call-for-roundtable/

On Australia Day, Georgie Stone and Rebekah Robertson were celebrated for their achievements in the community. Georgie, an out trans teenager (and actor) and Rebekah, actor and head of Transcend Support both were inducted into the Order of Australia. Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts spoke with both about their win, and what it means for their important work at Transcend.

Dorìan Electra is coming to Melbourne. This super smart and super talented artist blends genres, genders and ideas to make truly unique creations. Informer Executive Producer Aríon Potts spoke to Dorìan about their new album, their work and their upcoming tour.

Margaret Court is a tennis legend… who is also legendary for her controversial views. Whether it’s her 1970 statements where she said that South Africa’s apartheid was a successful way of managing “the racial problem” to saying that tennis was full of lesbians. And more. Much more.

Fifty years after her amazing grand slam wins, Tennis Australia commemorated, rather than celebrated, her successes. We spoke to Proud 2 Play’s Ryan Storr about how TA handled the situation.

A new group in Tasmania known as Devil’s in the Details are starting a petition to raise attention to the issue that federal religious freedom laws may override council bylaws and allow street preachers to preach anywhere. In Hobart and Adelaide it’s especially been an issue and free speech issues have cost the councils quite a bit of money. Sam from Devil’s in the Details explains why it’s an especially fraught issue in Hobart.

Queers in Science is a program to help LGBTIQA+ people in science build networks and community. Nicholas Kameniar-Sandery spoke to Ken Knight, member of QueersInScience and senior project lead at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, to find out more about the events. I also spoke with Assoc. Prof JJ Eldridge about her interest in astronomy and the lecture on exploding binaries. 

Emergency services don’t always understand that the LGBTIQA+ community has some specialised needs during a disaster. Whether it’s making sure that people only collect gender information when it’s needed, to access to specialised medications or safe spaces for LGBTIQA+ couples.

Deb Parkinson and Liam Leonard are working on training for emergency services to help them understand the community’s needs. The program, GADPod (Gender & Disaster Pod) has a lot of resources about helping the community.

After the sad death of Wilson Gavin this week, Toby Halligan reflects on some of the challenges gay men face when growing up – including spending a long time thinking you were not special, not loved, or worthwhile. In this extraordinary essay, Toby talks about his own experience navigating these issues and learning to love himself.

Q Life 1800 184 527 3pm-12am AEDT

Lifeline 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

Last Sunday’s Drag Queen Storytime at a Brisbane Library was going well until a group of protesters stormed into the room, protesting that “drag queens are not for kids”.

Eventually the protesters left. But less than a day later, a protest organiser had taken his own life. We speak with Holly Zwalf from Rainbow Families Queensland about the sad situation.