On the 22nd of November last year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that former immigration minister, Philip Ruddock would head a Review into Religious Freedom in Australia.

The panel of six experts from law reform, human rights and religious back grounds kicked off the review last week.

The review into religious freedom in Australia is due to wrap up on the 31st of March this year, and its results could directly affect our communities.

You can submit to the review via the online permission form which you will find at pmc.gov.au.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 17th January 2018.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is no longer a bad word after the postal survey, and last week Carolyne Dean from the ABS spoke at Better Together 2018, sharing the evidence they found in the 2016 census about our communities around the nation. Which was the first census where you could specify your gender as something other than male or female. Giving us a stronger picture of our gender diverse communities sit in our national picture.

The ABS are responsible for managing the consultation in the census in 2121, and while that may seem a while a way, they are starting their engagement process shortly, opening their formal submission from April to June this year.

So if you are iinterested in having a say in what is in the 2121 census, then head to the ABS website and get in touch so that what is collected in the next census is representative of the whole LGBTI community of Australia.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 17th January 2018.

On the 22nd of November 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the Hon Philip Ruddock, was to head a Review into Religious Freedom in Australia.

The Review kicked off less than a week ago on January 10th with a panel of six experts from law reform, human rights and religious back grounds.

The Review is due to wrap up on the 31st of March this year, and as this directly affects our community, The Informer will be following the review closely.

We are starting the conversation today with Reverend Ric Holland from St Michael’s Uniting Church in Melbourne.

The Informer’s Daniel Roberts spoke to the Reverend earlier today and started out by asking him-

“As a church leader, does he believe Religious organisations need protection from our community?”

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 16th January 2018

With a review into religious freedoms in Australia underway, on tonight’s show we begin to explore what this will mean for many in our communities as we asked Reverend Ric Holland rom St Michael’s Uniting Church in Melbourne how afraid we all need to be of what is coming.

We return to the Better Together Conference and look to the past to influence our future as we explore what equality means today and how the lables of the river of the passed has made way for a stream of possabilities for who we are and can be.

And with the Melbourne Drag Award nominations closing tonight, we find out why so many drag entertainers are clamoring to win the title Bitch of the Year, as we find out what has changed in what drag entertainment means to our community over the years.

Dan Arcuri hosts this episode of The Informer aired on JOY 94.9 on 16th January 2018

The Better Together Conference saw the many different parts of our communities come   to explore what we need to start working towards to unify the collective letters under our rainbow.

Is that something we can, or even want to do or achieve?

In order to look to our future we have to look to our past, and instead of placing blame, look for how our history can help us in the fights our communities are not ready for on the horizon.

We were at the Conference last week and we now hear from Jason Tuazon McCheyne and Jamie Gardiner as the torch is passed from the gay conferences of last century, to the LGTBIQ dialouges of the future.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 16th January 2017

Tuesday 16th Jan is the last day for voting in the Melbourne Drag Awards, and one of the most coveted awards to win isn’t the Hall of Fame or Drag Performer of the Year, it’s the title Bitch of the Year.

 

We spoke to some of the nominees, Bumpa Love, Lexi Gaga, Missy La Minx and Abril Latrine, about why the shady narrative of drag performing, seems to be the element that everyone prefers.

This segment aired on The Informer at JOY 94.9 on 16th January 2018

We are back for 2018 and on tonight’s show we head to the Better Together Conference that was held on in Melbourne on the weekend, and ask the question, how can the gay and lesbian communities be better allies to the Bi, Intersex and Trans communities?

We head to the Midsumma Carnival as they explore a new step towards inclusivity with an interactive art instillation for blind and vision impaired people.

And we speak to the winner of Mr Gay Pride Australia Jordan Bruno from Western Australia and find out how he plans to build stronger pathways for young LGBTI people all around Australia.

Lara Dickinson hosted this episode of The Informer

Last week over 600 delegates Australia and overseas, attended the first the Better Together Conference, exploring issues facing the LGBTI movement and bringing together diverse voices from across our communities and discussing what it would mean to work better together and how we could achieve this.

What would a more inclusive LGTBI conversation look like?

 

One of the big themes that was talked about in the conference was that the lesbian and gay communities need to do more work to become better allies to the Bi, Trans and Intersex communities, but how do we do that?

Ian Muchamore spoke to trans advocate and educator Sally Tia Conning, President of the Organisation Instersex  International Australia, Morgan Carpenter and queer artist and advocate for bi voices, Dani Weber at the conference and asked how the L & G can support the I T B?

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 15th January 2018.

Yesterday saw Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival kick off with the annual and much anticipated Midsumma Carnival in Alexandra Gardens.

In a new step towards inclusivity – Midsumma have a created a safe and interactive space for blind and vision impaired people attending the Carnival.

Daniel Roberts and Dean Arcuri spoke to the key players involved and Daniel filed this report looking at the collaboration between Midsumma, Vision Description and the Slow Arts Collective.

 

This segment aired on JOY 94.9 on 15th January 2018.

Mr. Gay Pride Australia is a search for Aussies who best represent and support their community. The competition is designed to find, build, and develop future leaders within the LGBTI community in Australia and around the world.

Mr. Gay Pride Australia selects the official Australian representative for Mr. Gay World, who will this year be competing in South Africa for the competitions 10th year.

After a public campaign and a weekend of activites, Jordan Bruno from Western Australia was announced as Mr Gay Pride Australia at the Midsumma Carnival on the weekend.

The Informer spoke to him about what this title means to him and how he wants to use the platform to provide greater support for young LGBTI people around the country.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 15th January 2018